Pips hints and answers for Monday, September 28, 2026
Pips is the NYT domino logic game: place every domino from the tray so that each colored region obeys its rule - a number means the pips in that region add to it, an equals region means every half in it matches, and a not-equal region means no two halves match. Monday's three boards were edited by Ian Livengood: an Easy board by Livengood with 5 dominoes, a Medium board by Rodolfo Kurchan with 7 dominoes, and a Hard board also by Kurchan with 14 dominoes. Each board gets its own hint ladder below, then its solved grid behind a tap.
Easy board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Ian Livengood · Tap to show one hint at a time.
A sparse board, five rows by five columns with only ten cells in play, and every region is a single cell or a pair: the single cell at row 1, column 1 must be less than 2, the pair across row 2, columns 1-2 must match each other, the pair across row 3, columns 2-3 must add to 10, the pair standing in column 5, rows 3-4 must match each other, the pair across row 4, columns 3-4 must add to 8, and the single cell at row 5, column 4 must add to exactly 2.
Both equals pairs hide doubles. Row 2 reads 4 beside 4: the 4 at column 1 is the bottom of the 1-4 domino standing in column 1, rows 1-2, whose 1 fills the less-than-2 cell at the top, and the 4 at column 2 is the top of the 4-4 domino standing in column 2, rows 2-3. The column 5 pair is the 0-0 domino standing there on its own.
The bottom of that 4-4 domino is the 4 that starts the sum-10 pair in row 3, completed by the 6 at column 3, the top of the 6-3 domino standing in column 3, rows 3-4, whose 3 starts the sum-8 pair in row 4. That pair is completed by the 5 at column 4, the top of the 2-5 domino standing in column 4, rows 4-5, whose 2 fills the pinned 2 at the bottom.
The Easy solution
The solved Easy board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 1-4 down column 1, rows 1-2 · 4-4 down column 2, rows 2-3 · 6-3 down column 3, rows 3-4 · 0-0 down column 5, rows 3-4 · 2-5 down column 4, rows 4-5
- Less than 2 1 = 1
- All equal 4 = 4
- Adds to 10 4 + 6
- All equal 0 = 0
- Adds to 8 3 + 5
- Adds to 2 2
Medium board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Rodolfo Kurchan · Tap to show one hint at a time.
Start with the pinned cells in the top row: row 1, column 1 must beat 1, row 1, column 3 must add to exactly 4, and row 1, column 2 carries no rule at all. Below them, the three cells at row 2, columns 2-3, plus row 3, column 2, must beat 10 together, the single cell at row 2, column 4 must add to exactly 0, the four cells at row 3, columns 3-4, plus row 4, column 3 and row 5, column 3, must beat 18 together, and the three cells at row 4, columns 4-5, plus row 5, column 4, must total less than 8.
The top row reads 4, 1, 4: the 4-1 domino lying across columns 1-2, and the 4 at column 3, the top of the 4-3 domino standing in column 3, rows 1-2, whose 3 joins the greater-than-10 region. That region reads 5, 3, 3: the 5-3 domino standing in column 2, rows 2-3 supplies the 5 and one of the 3s, and the 4-3 domino supplies the other. The pinned 0 at row 2, column 4 is the top of the 0-4 domino standing in column 4, rows 2-3.
The greater-than-18 region reads 4, 4, 5, 6: the 4 at row 3, column 3 is the top of the 4-5 domino standing in column 3, rows 3-4, whose 5 is the third value, the 4 at row 3, column 4 is the bottom of the 0-4 domino, and the 6 at row 5, column 3 is the end of the 3-6 domino lying across row 5, columns 3-4 in reverse. The less-than-8 trio reads 3, 1, 3: the 1-3 domino lying across row 4, columns 4-5 in reverse, putting its 3 at column 4 and its 1 at column 5, and the 3 at row 5, column 4, the start of that 3-6 domino.
The Medium solution
The solved Medium board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 4-1 across row 1, columns 1-2 · 4-3 down column 3, rows 1-2 · 5-3 down column 2, rows 2-3 · 0-4 down column 4, rows 2-3 · 4-5 down column 3, rows 3-4 · 1-3 across row 4, columns 4-5 · 3-6 across row 5, columns 3-4
- Greater than 1 4 = 4
- Adds to 4 4
- Greater than 10 5 + 3 + 3 = 11
- Adds to 0 0
- Greater than 18 4 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 19
- Less than 8 3 + 1 + 3 = 7
- No rule 1 cell in blank regions, free to take any value
Hard board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Rodolfo Kurchan · Tap to show one hint at a time.
A tall board, seven rows by five columns, with 14 dominoes. Two equals regions anchor it: the four cells across row 1, columns 2-5 must all match each other, and the four cells at row 5, columns 4-5, plus row 6, columns 4-5, must all match each other. The sums: the three cells at row 2, columns 1-2, plus row 3, column 1, add to 7, the three cells at row 2, column 3, plus row 3, columns 2-3, add to 8, the pair standing in column 5, rows 3-4, adds to 1, and the three cells standing in column 1, rows 4-6, add to 7. Three single cells in column 2 are pinned: row 4 and row 5 must each add to exactly 4, and row 6 to exactly 2. The single cell at row 2, column 5 must beat 4, the pair across row 7, columns 1-2 must beat 9 together, and the three cells across row 7, columns 3-5 must beat 14 together.
The top equals row is all 1s, arriving on three dominoes: the 1-3 domino standing in column 2, rows 1-2, the 1-2 domino standing in column 3, rows 1-2, and the 1-1 domino lying across row 1, columns 4-5 on its own. Their other ends feed the sums below: the sum-7 trio reads 4, 3, 0, the 4 and the 0 on the 0-4 domino standing in column 1, rows 2-3, with the 3 between them at row 2, column 2, and the sum-8 trio reads 2, 2, 4, that 2 at row 2, column 3 plus the 2-4 domino lying across row 3, columns 2-3. The greater-than-4 cell at row 2, column 5 is the 5 of the 1-5 domino standing in column 5, rows 2-3, whose 1 starts the sum-1 pair, completed by the 0 at row 4, column 5, the top of the 3-0 domino standing in column 5, rows 4-5.
Down column 1, the sum-7 trio reads 5, 0, 2: the 0-5 domino standing in rows 4-5, 5 on top and 0 below, and the 2 at row 6, the start of the 2-2 domino lying across row 6, columns 1-2, whose second 2 fills the pinned 2 in column 2. The two pinned 4s above it in column 2 are the 4-4 domino standing in rows 4-5 on its own. The bottom-right equals region is all 3s: the 3-3 domino standing in column 4, rows 5-6, the 3 at row 5, column 5, the bottom of the 3-0 domino, and the 3 at row 6, column 5, the bottom of the 6-3 domino standing in column 5, rows 6-7. The bottom row closes the board: the greater-than-9 pair reads 4 beside 6 on the 4-6 domino lying across columns 1-2, and the greater-than-14 trio reads 5, 4, 6, the 4-5 domino lying across columns 3-4 in reverse, 5 at column 3 and 4 at column 4, plus the 6 at column 5, the bottom of that 6-3 domino.
The Hard solution
The solved Hard board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 1-3 down column 2, rows 1-2 · 1-2 down column 3, rows 1-2 · 1-1 across row 1, columns 4-5 · 0-4 down column 1, rows 2-3 · 1-5 down column 5, rows 2-3 · 2-4 across row 3, columns 2-3 · 0-5 down column 1, rows 4-5 · 4-4 down column 2, rows 4-5 · 3-0 down column 5, rows 4-5 · 3-3 down column 4, rows 5-6 · 2-2 across row 6, columns 1-2 · 6-3 down column 5, rows 6-7 · 4-6 across row 7, columns 1-2 · 4-5 across row 7, columns 3-4
- All equal 1 = 1 = 1 = 1
- Adds to 7 4 + 3 + 0
- Adds to 8 2 + 2 + 4
- Greater than 4 5 = 5
- Adds to 1 1 + 0
- Adds to 7 5 + 0 + 2
- Adds to 4 4
- Adds to 4 4
- All equal 3 = 3 = 3 = 3
- Adds to 2 2
- Greater than 9 4 + 6 = 10
- Greater than 14 5 + 4 + 6 = 15