Thursday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. All three boards run the same zone layout, anchored by an equal-value navy slot, an exact-total orange zone, and a high-sum teal zone that only the biggest pips can clear. The real test is sequencing, not new mechanics. We've got a quick hint and the solved board for each of the Easy, Medium, and Hard puzzles.
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
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge. Every difficulty level runs the same zone layout and domino set, so the climb comes from sequencing discipline rather than fresh mechanics.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - The zero-total zones gate the entire solve. The exact-zero slots accept only zero pips, and the whole board hinges on keeping those pips alive while still feeding the low-sum, high-sum, and uncolored slots. One misplaced zero strands the grid.
Our Take: Today's set is a clean exercise in constraint-counting. The two equal-value zones pre-solve a third of the board, and the high-sum threshold funnels every big pip into one corner. Once you see that the zero-total zones guard the low pips, the grid unfolds fast. Tight, fair puzzles with just enough teeth on Hard to keep you honest.
Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
