Pips hints and answers for Wednesday, September 30, 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. Wednesday'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 15 dominoes, one more than the usual 14. 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 short, wide board, three rows by five columns, with six regions: the single cell at row 1, column 4 must add to exactly 1, the three cells at row 2, column 2, plus row 3, columns 1-2, must all match each other, the pair across row 2, columns 3-4 must add to 1, and the pair standing in column 5, rows 2-3, must add to 10. Two single cells carry no rule at all: row 1, column 5 and row 3, column 4.
The equals region is all 6s, arriving on two dominoes: the 6-0 domino lying across row 2, columns 2-3, whose 6 sits at column 2 and whose 0 starts the sum-1 pair, and the 6-6 domino lying across row 3, columns 1-2 on its own. The sum-1 pair is completed by the 1 at row 2, column 4, the end of the 5-1 domino lying across row 2, columns 4-5, whose 5 starts the sum-10 pair in column 5.
The sum-1 cell at the top, row 1, column 4, is the 1 of the 1-3 domino lying across row 1, columns 4-5, whose 3 fills the empty cell beside it. The sum-10 pair is completed by the second 5 at row 3, column 5, the start of the 5-4 domino lying across row 3, columns 4-5, whose 4 fills the last empty cell.
The Easy solution
The solved Easy board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 1-3 across row 1, columns 4-5 · 6-0 across row 2, columns 2-3 · 5-1 across row 2, columns 4-5 · 6-6 across row 3, columns 1-2 · 5-4 across row 3, columns 4-5
- Adds to 1 1
- All equal 6 = 6 = 6
- Adds to 1 0 + 1
- Adds to 10 5 + 5
- No rule 2 cells in blank regions, free to take any value
Medium board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Rodolfo Kurchan · Tap to show one hint at a time.
Start with the column on the left: the three cells in column 1, rows 1-3, must add to 11, while the single cell at row 1, column 2 must be less than 2, and the single cell at row 3, column 2 must add to exactly 2. The three cells at row 1, column 3, plus row 2, columns 2-3, must all differ from each other, the three cells at row 1, column 4, plus row 2, columns 4-5, must total less than 8 together, and the three cells at row 3, column 3, plus row 4, columns 2-3, must all match each other.
The equals region at the bottom is all 2s, on the 2-2 domino lying across row 4, columns 2-3, and the 2 at row 3, column 3, the bottom of the 2-5 domino standing in column 3, rows 2-3, whose 5 sits in the unequal region. The less-than-2 cell at the top is the 1 of the 1-4 domino standing in column 2, rows 1-2, whose 4 is the second unequal value, and the third is the 6 at row 1, column 3, the start of the 6-4 domino lying across row 1, columns 3-4.
The sum-11 column reads 5, 3, 3: the 5-3 domino standing in column 1, rows 1-2, and the 3 at row 3, column 1, the end of the 2-3 domino lying across row 3, columns 1-2, whose 2 fills the pinned 2 beside it. The less-than-8 region reads 4, 2, 1: the 4 of the 6-4 domino, and the 2-1 domino lying across row 2, columns 4-5.
The Medium solution
The solved Medium board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 5-3 down column 1, rows 1-2 · 1-4 down column 2, rows 1-2 · 6-4 across row 1, columns 3-4 · 2-5 down column 3, rows 2-3 · 2-1 across row 2, columns 4-5 · 2-3 across row 3, columns 1-2 · 2-2 across row 4, columns 2-3
- Adds to 11 5 + 3 + 3
- Less than 2 1 = 1
- All different 6, 4, 5
- Less than 8 4 + 2 + 1 = 7
- Adds to 2 2
- All equal 2 = 2 = 2
Hard board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Rodolfo Kurchan · Tap to show one hint at a time.
A full 6x6 board with 15 dominoes. Work the equals regions and the big sum first: the three cells at row 1, column 1, plus row 2, columns 1-2, must all match, the four cells at row 4, column 6, plus row 5, columns 5-6 and row 6, column 6 must all match, and the four cells at rows 2-3, columns 5-6, must add to 22. Around them: the pair across row 1, columns 2-3 must add to 6, the three cells across row 1, columns 4-6 to 3, the pair standing in column 3, rows 2-3, to 2, the pairs across row 3, columns 1-2, and standing in column 1, rows 4-5, each to 9, the single cell at row 4, column 2 must be less than 1, the single cells at row 4, column 5 and row 5, column 4 must each beat 4, the pair across row 6, columns 3-4 must all differ, and the single cell at row 6, column 5 must add to exactly 2. Two single cells carry no rule: row 6, columns 1 and 2.
The top-left equals region is all 4s, arriving on three dominoes: the 2-4 domino lying across the top row, columns 1-2, whose 4 sits at column 1, the 4-4 domino standing in column 1, rows 2-3, and the 4 at row 2, column 2, the start of the 4-1 domino lying across row 2, columns 2-3, whose 1 starts the sum-2 pair in column 3. The sum-6 pair in the top row is completed by the 4 at row 1, column 3, the end of the 3-4 domino lying across columns 3-2 in reverse, whose 3 starts the sum-3 row, and that row is finished by the 0-0 domino lying across columns 5-6, both cells 0.
The sum-22 block is all big numbers, 4, 6, 6, 6: the 4-6 domino lying across row 2, columns 5-6, the 6 at row 3, column 5, the top of the 5-6 domino standing in column 5, rows 3-4, and the 6 at row 3, column 6, the top of the 2-6 domino standing in column 6, rows 3-4. The bottom-right equals region is all 2s: that 2 at row 4, column 6, the 2-5 domino lying across row 5, columns 4-5 in reverse, putting its 2 at column 5, and the 2-2 domino standing in column 6, rows 5-6. In column 1, the sum-9 pair across row 3 reads 4 beside 5, the 4 of the 4-4 domino and the 5 at row 3, column 2, the end of the 1-5 domino lying across row 3, columns 3-2 in reverse, and the sum-9 pair standing in column 1, rows 4-5, reads 4 over 5: the 4 is the start of the 4-0 domino lying across row 4, columns 1-2, and the 5 is the top of the 4-5 domino standing in column 1, rows 5-6, whose 4 fills the empty cell in row 6. The less-than-1 cell in row 4 is the 0 of the 4-0 domino lying across row 4, columns 1-2, the two greater-than-4 cells are both 5s - the 5 of the 5-6 domino in row 4 and the 5 at row 5, column 4, the end of the 2-5 domino - and the bottom row is closed by the 3-1 domino lying across columns 2-3 in the empty and unequal cells, reading 3 beside 1, which differ as required, and the 2 of the 3-2 domino lying across columns 4-5, whose 3 sits beside it in the unequal pair.
The Hard solution
The solved Hard board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 2-4 across row 1, columns 1-2 · 3-4 across row 1, columns 3-4 · 0-0 across row 1, columns 5-6 · 4-4 down column 1, rows 2-3 · 4-1 across row 2, columns 2-3 · 4-6 across row 2, columns 5-6 · 1-5 across row 3, columns 2-3 · 5-6 down column 5, rows 3-4 · 2-6 down column 6, rows 3-4 · 4-0 across row 4, columns 1-2 · 4-5 down column 1, rows 5-6 · 2-5 across row 5, columns 4-5 · 2-2 down column 6, rows 5-6 · 3-1 across row 6, columns 2-3 · 3-2 across row 6, columns 4-5
- All equal 4 = 4 = 4
- Adds to 6 2 + 4
- Adds to 3 3 + 0 + 0
- Adds to 2 1 + 1
- Adds to 22 4 + 6 + 6 + 6
- Adds to 9 4 + 5
- Adds to 9 4 + 5
- Less than 1 0 = 0
- Greater than 4 5 = 5
- All equal 2 = 2 = 2 = 2
- Greater than 4 5 = 5
- All different 1, 3
- Adds to 2 2
- No rule 2 cells in blank regions, free to take any value