Thursday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. Today's lineup shares the same grid layout across all three difficulty levels, making it a great day to practice your domino logic from Easy through Hard. The zone conditions are consistent and forgiving, with plenty of exact-number and equal-value constraints to anchor your placements.
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: Same grid as Easy and Medium, but the Hard difficulty demands precision. Lock in the exact-number zones first -- they are your most constrained variables.
Key Insight: The purple (=) zone is the bottleneck. You need two dominoes entering this zone where all four pip faces show the same value. The 3/4 and 3/0 dominoes work because the zone condition applies to the total of all pips within the zone, not each individual domino.
Watch Out For: The duplicate zone values (navy 0 appears twice, pink 4 appears twice, teal 1 appears twice) can trick you into placing the wrong domino in the wrong location. Double-check which exact-value zone you are targeting before committing.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
- 1.Start with the purple (0) zone at the grid edge. This exact-value zone requires a domino with a 0 pip. The adjacent pink (4) zone needs a 4. Place the 0/4 domino vertically to satisfy both zones simultaneously.
- 2.Locate the pink (2) zone directly south. It borders teal (4). A vertical 2/4 domino resolves both exact-value conditions cleanly. This also helps define the left side of the grid.
- 3.Move to the teal (1) zone. It shares a vertical border with orange (3). Place the 1/3 domino here. These three initial placements create a strong foundation on the left edge.
- 4.The orange (5) zone connects to navy (0) on its right side. Lay a vertical 5/0 domino. The 5 satisfies orange's exact condition and 0 satisfies navy's exact condition.
- 5.Navy (4) and green (5) are horizontally adjacent near the center. Place the 4/5 domino flat across both zones. This horizontal placement bridges two key exact-value zones.
- 6.Continue pairing exact-value zones: teal (2) vertically to orange (0), then orange (2) vertically to navy (3). These placements lock in the middle section of the grid.
- 7.Place the 0/1 domino horizontally across navy (0) and green (1). Note this is the second navy (0) zone, so verify you are targeting the correct one.
- 8.Now handle the purple (=) zone. This is the critical section. Place the 3/4 domino vertically so the 3 end enters the purple zone and the 4 end enters pink (4). Then place the 3/0 domino vertically with the 3 end in purple and the 0 end in teal (0). Both dominoes contribute 3-pip faces to the purple zone, satisfying the equal-value condition.
- 9.The uncolored (no condition) zone gives you breathing room. Place the 3/5 domino here horizontally. No restrictions apply, so any domino works.
- 10.Finish the remaining pairs: green (2) vertically to navy (1), purple (4) horizontally to teal (1), green (5) horizontally to purple (1), and orange (2) vertically to pink (5). Each placement satisfies both zone conditions.
Hard Pips Solution
Last chance to solve independently
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- 1.Place the 0/4 domino vertically in the purple (0) zone and pink (4) zone
- 2.Place the 2/4 domino vertically in the pink (2) zone and teal (4) zone
- 3.Place the 1/3 domino vertically in the teal (1) zone and orange (3) zone
- 4.Place the 5/0 domino vertically in the orange (5) zone and navy (0) zone
- 5.Place the 4/5 domino horizontally in the navy (4) zone and green (5) zone
- 6.Place the 2/0 domino vertically in the teal (2) zone and orange (0) zone
- 7.Place the 2/3 domino vertically in the orange (2) zone and navy (3) zone
- 8.Place the 0/1 domino horizontally in the navy (0) zone and green (1) zone
- 9.Place the 3/4 domino vertically in the purple (=) zone and pink (4) zone
- 10.Place the 3/0 domino vertically in the purple (=) zone and teal (0) zone
- 11.Place the 3/5 domino horizontally in the uncolored (no condition) zone
- 12.Place the 2/1 domino vertically in the green (2) zone and navy (1) zone
- 13.Place the 4/1 domino horizontally in the purple (4) zone and teal (1) zone
- 14.Place the 5/1 domino horizontally in the green (5) zone and purple (1) zone
- 15.Place the 2/5 domino vertically in the orange (2) zone and pink (5) zone
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge. The identical grid across all three levels means the puzzle logic is consistent, but Hard demands more careful tracking of the purple (=) zone and duplicate value zones.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - The purple (=) zone is the trap. Two dominoes enter this zone, and you must ensure all pip faces inside it show the same value. Misplacing the 3/4 and 3/0 dominoes is the most common error, and it will ripple through the entire grid.
Our Take: Today's set is a good confidence builder. The shared layout across difficulties means you can learn the logic on Easy, test it on Medium, and prove mastery on Hard. The purple (=) zone is the star of the show -- it is the only non-exact constraint, and solving it correctly is what separates a clean finish from a frustrating restart. Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
