Tuesday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. June 30 dishes out a solid midweek challenge with zones that demand tight number control - exact totals, equal-value constraints, and a few under/over conditions that will test your placement logic across all three boards. 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
Quick Hints (No Spoilers)
Today's Hard Pips
Quick Hints (No Spoilers)
Starting Point: The green (12) and green (15) zones are your biggest sum targets and they sit adjacent to multiple smaller zones. Start solving from the outer edges and work your way inward to avoid paintin yourself into a corner with the green totals.
Key Insight: The pink (8) zone touches three different zones - purple (=), orange (=), and pink (=). Each domino you place there affects multiple constraints simultaneously. Think of it as the hub of the board.
Watch Out For: Do not overload the green (12) zone early. If you dump high-value dominoes there too soon, you will overshoot the total and have to restart. Let the green zones fill gradually as you satisfy the smaller surrounding zones.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
- 1.Start with the purple (4) zone - the 1/1 domino placed vertically gives you the exact total. This is the safest opening move because it isolates a single zone with no cross-zone dependencies.
- 2.Place the 5/2 vertically across teal (=) and purple (4). The 5 in teal (=) is one of the values that will need matching elsewhere in that zone. The 2 in purple (4) adds to the exact-4 total alongside the existing 1/1.
- 3.Position the 6/5 vertically between purple (=) and teal (=). Purple (=) gets the 6, teal (=) gets the 5. Note that neither zone is fully satisfied yet - each needs additional matching pip values from other dominoes.
- 4.Place the 6/3 horizontally linking purple (=) and pink (8). The 6 in purple (=) matches the 6 already there - good. The 3 in pink (8) starts building toward the sum of 8.
- 5.Add the 5/3 vertically across pink (8) and orange (=). Pink (8) now has 3 + 3 = 6, needing 2 more to hit 8. Orange (=) gets a 5.
- 6.Place the 3/4 vertically in orange (=) and pink (=). Orange (=) now has 5 and 3 - not equal yet. Pink (=) gets a 4.
- 7.Drop the 4/1 vertically in navy (4) and pink (<3). The 1 in pink (<3) is valid. Navy (4) gets a 4, hitting its exact total.
- 8.Fill pink (=) with the 4/4 horizontal placement. Both pips are 4, satisfying the equal-value condition.
- 9.Place the 2/2 horizontally in navy (5). Two 2s total 5 - exact hit.
- 10.Bridge navy (5) and green (12) with the 1/6 vertical. Navy (5) now has 4 + 1 = 5 - done. Green (12) gets a 6.
- 11.Connect orange (4) and green (12) with the 4/6 horizontal. Orange (4) hits exactly 4. Green (12) now has 6 + 6 = 12 - satisfied.
- 12.Bridge teal (4) and green (15) with the 4/5 vertical. Teal (4) hits exactly 4. Green (15) gets a 5.
- 13.Add the 5/5 horizontally in green (15). Green (15) now has 5 + 10 = 15 - done.
- 14.Finish with the 2/3 vertical in purple (5). Total of 5, zone satisfied. All dominoes placed, all conditions met.
Hard Pips Solution
Last chance to solve independently
---
---
---
---
---
- 1.Place the 1/1 domino vertically in the purple (4) zone
- 2.Place the 5/2 domino vertically in the teal (=) zone and purple (4) zone
- 3.Place the 6/5 domino vertically in the purple (=) zone and teal (=) zone
- 4.Place the 6/3 domino horizontally in the purple (=) zone and pink (8) zone
- 5.Place the 5/3 domino vertically in the pink (8) zone and orange (=) zone
- 6.Place the 3/4 domino vertically in the orange (=) zone and pink (=) zone
- 7.Place the 4/1 domino vertically in the navy (4) zone and pink (<3) zone
- 8.Place the 4/4 domino horizontally in the pink (=) zone
- 9.Place the 2/2 domino horizontally in the navy (5) zone
- 10.Place the 1/6 domino vertically in the navy (5) zone and green (12) zone
- 11.Place the 4/6 domino horizontally in the orange (4) zone and green (12) zone
- 12.Place the 4/5 domino vertically in the teal (4) zone and green (15) zone
- 13.Place the 5/5 domino horizontally in the green (15) zone
- 14.Place the 2/3 domino vertically in the purple (5) zone
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge. The zone conditions are straightforward - exact totals and equal-value constraints dominate - but the cross-zone domino placements require careful sequencing. You cannot afford to place randomly and hope it works out.
Trickiest Puzzle: Easy - The green (12) and green (15) zones are deceptively easy to overshoot. New players tend to drop their highest dominoes there first, only to realize they have no room left to satisfy the smaller neighboring zones. The Hard puzzle demands the same precision but rewards methodical edge-to-center solving.
Our Take: A solid Tuesday spread. The zone layout rewards players who think about domino boundaries rather than individual placements. The pink (<3) zone is a nice constraint - small but powerful, forcing you to reserve a low-value domino early. If you solved all three, you have the logic down. If you got stuck on one, revisit how you handled the green sum zones.
Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
