Thursday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles with identical zone layouts across all three difficulty levels. The board is packed with exact-value and equal-sign conditions that reward methodical, constraint-first thinking. We've got hints, step-by-step walkthroughs, and full solutions for Easy, Medium, and Hard difficulty levels.
How to Play Pips
Pips is a domino placement puzzle where you fill a grid of color-coded zones. Each zone has a condition you must satisfy using the pip values on your dominoes. The twist: you must use every domino and meet every condition to win.
Zone Conditions:
- = All pips in this zone must equal the same number
- Not Equal All pips must be different numbers
- > Pips must be greater than the listed number
- < Pips must be less than the listed number
- Exact Number Pips must total that exact value
- No Color Free space, any domino value works
Click or tap dominoes to rotate them. Each puzzle has one or more valid solutions.
Today's Easy Pips
Today's Medium Pips
Today's Hard Pips
Quick Hints (No Spoilers)
Starting Point: The orange (>10) zone is the most restrictive condition on the board. The 5/6 domino is the only piece that sums above 10, so its placement is forced. Start there and build outward.
Key Insight: The navy (=) and teal (=) zones are the last to resolve because they depend on dominoes filtering through the exact-value zones. Solve all the exact-number zones (0, 1, 10) first, then the equal-sign zones fall into place naturally.
Watch Out For: The uncolored zone between navy and teal is a trap. It has no condition, but the domino crossing it (6/3) determines which values reach the teal (=) zone. Place it incorrectly and the teal equal-sign condition breaks. Also, the pink (=) zone must be all 4s - the 1/4 and 4/4 dominoes are the only way to achieve this, so don't waste those pieces elsewhere.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
- 1.Place the 5/6 domino horizontally in the orange (>10) zone. Sum of 11 clears the greater-than-10 condition. This domino is forced - no other piece sums above 10.
- 2.Place the 0/4 domino vertically in the teal (0) zone and purple (10) zone. The 0 is the only value that satisfies teal's exact-0 requirement. The 4 begins purple's march toward 10.
- 3.Place the 0/6 domino vertically in the navy (0) zone and pink (10) zone. Same logic - the 0 satisfies navy's exact-0 condition. The 6 starts building pink's sum.
- 4.Place the 6/1 domino vertically in the purple (10) zone and orange (1) zone. Purple now totals 4 + 6 = 10, satisfying its exact-value condition. The 1 satisfies orange's exact-1 condition.
- 5.Place the 4/6 domino horizontally in the green (10) zone. This gives green a sum of 10, satisfying its exact-value condition.
- 6.Place the 2/1 domino horizontally in the pink (10) zone and teal (1) zone. Pink now has 6 + 2 = 8 toward its 10 target. The 1 satisfies teal's exact-1 condition.
- 7.Place the 2/6 domino vertically in the pink (10) zone and navy (=) zone. Pink reaches 6 + 2 + 2 = 10, completing its exact-value requirement. The 6 enters navy (=) as a candidate for the equal-sign zone.
- 8.Place the 6/6 domino horizontally in the navy (=) zone. Navy now contains 0 (from step 3), 6 (from step 7), and 6+6=12 from this domino. But wait - the 0 from step 3 is in the navy (0) zone, which is a separate section from navy (=). The navy (=) zone contains the 6 from step 7 and both 6s from this domino, all equaling 6.
- 9.Place the 1/4 domino vertically in the green (1) zone and pink (=) zone. The 1 satisfies green's exact-1 condition. The 4 enters the pink (=) zone.
- 10.Place the 4/4 domino vertically in the pink (=) zone. Pink (=) now contains 4 (from step 9) and 4+4=8 from this domino, totaling 12 across three pips all valued at 4. The equal-sign condition is satisfied.
- 11.Place the 1/1 domino horizontally in the purple (1) zone and pink (1) zone. Both zones receive a single 1 pip, satisfying their exact-1 requirements.
- 12.Place the 6/3 domino vertically in the uncolored (no condition) zone and teal (=) zone. The uncolored zone accepts any value. The 3 enters teal (=), establishing the value for the equal-sign zone.
- 13.Place the 3/3 domino horizontally in the teal (=) zone. Teal (=) now contains 3 (from step 12) and 3+3=6 from this domino, all equaling 3. The equal-sign condition is satisfied.
- 14.Place the 1/3 domino vertically in the purple (1) zone and teal (=) zone. The 1 satisfies purple's exact-1 condition. The 3 matches teal's equal value.
- 15.Place the 5/5 domino horizontally in the orange (=) zone. Orange (=) now contains 5+5=10 across two pips, both valued at 5. The equal-sign condition is satisfied.
Hard Pips Solution
Last chance to solve independently
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- 1.Place the 1/1 domino horizontally in the purple (1) zone and pink (1) zone
- 2.Place the 0/4 domino vertically in the teal (0) zone and purple (10) zone
- 3.Place the 5/6 domino horizontally in the orange (>10) zone
- 4.Place the 6/1 domino vertically in the purple (10) zone and orange (1) zone
- 5.Place the 0/6 domino vertically in the navy (0) zone and pink (10) zone
- 6.Place the 4/6 domino horizontally in the green (10) zone
- 7.Place the 2/1 domino horizontally in the pink (10) zone and teal (1) zone
- 8.Place the 2/6 domino vertically in the pink (10) zone and navy (=) zone
- 9.Place the 6/6 domino horizontally in the navy (=) zone
- 10.Place the 1/4 domino vertically in the green (1) zone and pink (=) zone
- 11.Place the 4/4 domino vertically in the pink (=) zone
- 12.Place the 6/3 domino vertically in the uncolored (no condition) zone and teal (=) zone
- 13.Place the 3/3 domino horizontally in the teal (=) zone
- 14.Place the 1/3 domino vertically in the purple (1) zone and teal (=) zone
- 15.Place the 5/5 domino horizontally in the orange (=) zone
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge. The zone layout is identical across all three levels, which is unusual for Pips. The difficulty comes from the sheer number of exact-value constraints - five zones demand precise sums, and three equal-sign zones require careful domino matching.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - The cascade of exact-value zones (0, 1, 10) across teal, navy, purple, pink, green, and orange creates a tight constraint web. One misstep in the purple (10) zone, which shares dominoes with teal (0) and orange (1), forces a chain reaction that invalidates multiple zones. The uncolored zone between navy and teal is also easy to misplay - it looks like free space but the domino crossing it determines the teal equal-sign value.
Our Take: Thursday's set is a pure constraint-satisfaction exercise. There's no room for creative placement - the exact-value zones dictate most of the board, and the equal-sign zones fill in the gaps. The identical zone layout across difficulties means you're learning the same topology three times, which is a great way to internalize Pips strategy. Start with the orange (>10) zone, work through the exact-value zones in order of tightness, and let the equal-sign zones resolve last. Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
