Need some help with the NYT Pips today? Unlike the other NYT Games, Pips is one of the few that focuses on numbers and logical placement. No worries, though, we’ve got you covered.
Below, we’ve compiled hints and solutions for the Easy and Medium puzzles, along with a comprehensive guide for the Hard Pips. You can play along here.
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Pips tips — how to play Pips
Pips is a domino placement game featuring a grid of multicolored boxes that gets more complicated and larger as you go up in difficulty. Each colored zone represents a condition you have to meet.
You select dominoes and place dominoes into the grid to meet those conditions. You must use every domino to achieve each condition and win the game. Clicking or tapping on the dominoes rotates them so you can position the tiles.
(Image credit: New York Times)
In the example from a medium puzzle, there are four colored zones. Your placed dominoes must total 12 in the purple zone. In the teal and orange sectors, the number of domino pips must be greater than 3.
In the hard mode, the zones and symbols get more complicated. For example, you could see a crossed-out equal sign, meaning that the three squares you place must be different numbers.
Here are the various symbols you might see:
- = All pips must be the same in this group
- ≠ All pips must not be the same number in this group
- > The pips in the tile must be greater than the listed number
- < The pips in this tile must be less than the listed number
- A number [like 12], the pips must equal that exact number
- Tiles with no color can be anything; think of this as a free space
To win a game of Pips, you must fulfill every condition and fill every square. In some puzzles, there is only one correct solution. In others, usually the harder ones, there can be multiple solutions.
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Today’s Pips answers — hints to help you solve it
Below are the solutions for the Easy and Medium-level Pips. After that, you can find a fuller walkthrough for the Hard level. Spoilers below.
Today’s Easy Pips solution
(Image credit: New York Times)
Today’s Medium Pips solution
(Image credit: New York Times)
Today’s Hard Pips walkthrough and solution
(Image credit: New York Times)
The most obvious zones we’re looking at in today’s hard puzzle are the three tens. A look at the dominoes reveals a tile with two five-pip sets. A 5/3 tile and a 5/6 tile. Additionally, we have 4/0 tile and a 6/0, which could be used to make ten.
Where I started, though, was the equals group. There is a 1/0 and 3/1 tile where you could have the two one pips, but more important are the 3/1 and 3/5 tiles since you need that five for one of the 10 zones.
So, I put the 3/1 in the left teal zone. The 3/5 goes into the other slot with the 5 going into the purple 10 zone. That leaves the other 1/0 tile sitting out, but obvious for the pink 0 spot.
With the purple 5 slotted, the double 5 tile has to go in the orange 10 zone because you can’t have it go vertically anywhere. That leaves the 5/6 tile with the 6 in a free spot.
And from there, you can place the 4/0 and 6/0 however you like, as long as the 0s occupy a free space and the numbers are positioned in the blue zone.
Here’s how that looks:
Hard Pips solution
(Image credit: New York Timse)
