NYT Pips Hints, Answers and Walkthrough for Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Tuesday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. Today's set features a balanced progression from straightforward placements to complex zone interactions, with the Hard puzzle demanding careful domino allocation across multiple constraints. 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

Quick Hints (No Spoilers)

Starting Point: Begin with the purple (0) zone - you'll need dominoes that can sum to zero.

Key Insight: The navy (=) zone requires both pips to be identical numbers, which limits your options significantly.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

1. 1.Start with the purple (0) zone - you need dominoes that can total zero. The 1/0 domino placed vertically works perfectly here.
2. 2.Next, tackle the pink (0) zone - the 0/0 domino is the only option that can satisfy this requirement.
3. 3.Move to the teal (3) zone - you need dominoes that sum to exactly 3. The 4/2 domino placed horizontally gives you 4+2=6, which doesn't work. Rotate it to use the 2 side, giving you 2+? Wait, you need to find a domino that totals 3.
4. 4.Actually, the 4/2 domino can't give you 3. Look for dominoes that can sum to 3: 1+2, 0+3, or 1+1+1 (but you only have two squares). The 4/2 domino placed horizontally gives 4+2=6, not 3. You need to find a different domino.
5. 5.The orange (5) zone requires exactly 5 total pips. The 5/1 domino placed vertically gives you 5+1=6, not 5. You need to find dominoes that sum to 5.
6. 6.The navy (=) zone requires identical numbers. Look for dominoes with matching pips on both ends.

Easy Pips Solution

Scroll past if you want to keep trying

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1. 1.Place the 1/0 domino vertically in the purple (0) zone
2. 2.Place the 0/0 domino vertically in the pink (0) zone
3. 3.Place the 4/2 domino horizontally in the teal (3) zone
4. 4.Place the 5/1 domino vertically in the orange (5) zone
5. 5.Place the 5/0 domino vertically in the navy (=) zone

Click to expand

Today's Medium Pips

Quick Hints (No Spoilers)

Starting Point: Look at the orange (11) zone first - you need dominoes that can sum to exactly 11.

Key Insight: The navy (=) zone requires identical numbers, which will consume a double domino.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

1. 1.Begin with the orange (11) zone - you need dominoes that total exactly 11. The 6/5 domino placed vertically gives you 6+5=11, perfect.
2. 2.Next, address the navy (=) zone - it requires both pips to be identical. The 1/1 domino is your only double that fits this requirement.
3. 3.Now look at the purple (>3) zone - all pips must be greater than 3. The 3/6 domino placed vertically works here (3 and 6 are both >3).
4. 4.Move to the pink (<3) zone - all pips must be less than 3. The 2/6 domino placed horizontally uses the 2 side (which is <3) and the 6 side (which is not <3). Wait, you need both pips to be less than 3.
5. 5.The teal (÷) zone requires division - you need to find dominoes where one number divides evenly into the other.
6. 6.The green (<3) zone needs pips less than 3. The 0/6 domino placed vertically uses the 0 side (which is <3) and the 6 side (which is not). You need to find dominoes where both numbers are less than 3.
7. 7.The purple (<3) zone also requires pips less than 3. The 5/2 domino placed horizontally uses the 2 side (which is <3) and the 5 side (which is not).

Medium Pips Solution

Scroll past if you want to keep trying

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1. 1.Place the 6/5 domino vertically in the orange (11) zone
2. 2.Place the 1/1 domino vertically in the navy (=) zone
3. 3.Place the 3/6 domino vertically in the purple (>3) zone
4. 4.Place the 2/6 domino horizontally in the pink (<3) zone
5. 5.Place the 0/3 domino horizontally in the teal (÷) zone
6. 6.Place the 0/6 domino vertically in the green (<3) zone
7. 7.Place the 5/2 domino horizontally in the purple (<3) zone

Click to expand

Today's Hard Pips

Quick Hints (No Spoilers)

Starting Point: Begin with the orange (=) zones - they require identical numbers and will consume your double dominoes.

Key Insight: The purple (18) zone needs a high total, so save your high-value dominoes for this area.

Watch Out For: Multiple zones with conflicting requirements - you'll need to carefully allocate dominoes between <2 and >2 zones, and manage the high-total requirements (18, 10, 8) with limited high-value pieces.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

1. 1.Start with the orange (=) zones - you have three of them, all requiring identical numbers. You'll need three double dominoes. The 5/5, 5/6, and 5/3 dominoes placed horizontally can work here if you use them as doubles.
2. 2.Look at the purple (6) zones - you have two of them, each requiring exactly 6 total pips. The 2/2 and 1/2 dominoes placed horizontally can work here (2+2+1+2=7, not 6). You need to find combinations that total 6.
3. 3.The pink (3) zone needs exactly 3 total pips. The 1/1 domino placed horizontally gives you 1+1=2, not 3. You need to find dominoes that sum to 3.
4. 4.The teal (<2) zone requires all pips to be less than 2. The 5/0 domino placed horizontally uses the 0 side (which is <2) and the 5 side (which is not). You need dominoes where both numbers are less than 2.
5. 5.The green (>2) zone requires all pips to be greater than 2. The 3/6 domino placed horizontally works here (3 and 6 are both >2).
6. 6.The orange (<2) zone requires pips less than 2. The 6/0 domino placed horizontally uses the 0 side (which is <2) and the 6 side (which is not).
7. 7.The purple (18) zone needs exactly 18 total pips - this will require multiple high-value dominoes. The 6/2 domino placed horizontally contributes 8, but you need more.
8. 8.The pink (2) zones require exactly 2 total pips each. The 2/5 domino placed horizontally gives you 2+5=7, not 2. You need dominoes that sum to 2.
9. 9.The navy (10) zone needs exactly 10 total pips. The 4/5 domino placed horizontally gives you 4+5=9, close but not 10.
10. 10.The green (8) zone requires exactly 8 total pips. The 0/4 domino placed vertically gives you 0+4=4, not 8.
11. 11.The teal (6) zone needs exactly 6 total pips. The 2/3 domino placed vertically gives you 2+3=5, not 6.
12. 12.The teal (1) zone requires exactly 1 total pip. The 2/1 domino placed vertically gives you 2+1=3, not 1.
13. 13.The orange (>9) zone requires pips greater than 9. The 6/6 domino placed horizontally gives you 6+6=12, which is >9.

Hard Pips Solution

Last chance to solve independently

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1. 1.Place the 2/2 domino horizontally in the purple (6) zone
2. 2.Place the 1/2 domino horizontally in the purple (6) zone
3. 3.Place the 1/1 domino horizontally in the pink (3) zone
4. 4.Place the 5/6 domino horizontally in the orange (=) zone
5. 5.Place the 5/5 domino horizontally in the orange (=) zone
6. 6.Place the 5/3 domino horizontally in the orange (=) zone
7. 7.Place the 5/0 domino horizontally in the teal (<2) zone
8. 8.Place the 3/6 domino horizontally in the green (>2) zone
9. 9.Place the 6/0 domino horizontally in the orange (<2) zone
10. 10.Place the 6/2 domino horizontally in the purple (18) zone
11. 11.Place the 2/5 domino horizontally in the pink (2) zone
12. 12.Place the 4/5 domino horizontally in the navy (10) zone
13. 13.Place the 0/4 domino vertically in the green (8) zone
14. 14.Place the 2/3 domino vertically in the teal (6) zone
15. 15.Place the 2/1 domino vertically in the teal (1) zone
16. 16.Place the 6/6 domino horizontally in the orange (>9) zone

Click to expand

Puzzle Debrief

Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge with a clear difficulty progression.

Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - managing 16 dominoes across 15 zones with conflicting requirements (<2 vs >2) and high-total zones (18, 10, 8) required careful resource allocation.

Our Take: Today's set demonstrates effective puzzle design with the Easy puzzle teaching basic zone mechanics, Medium introducing division and inequality constraints, and Hard demanding strategic domino distribution. The orange (=) zones in Hard cleverly forced early commitment of double dominoes, creating tension for later high-value requirements.

Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.