Pips hints and answers for Friday, October 2, 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. Friday'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 tall, narrow board, six rows by three columns, with just five regions: the pair standing in column 1, rows 1-2, must match each other, the single cell at row 1, column 2 must be less than 2, the pair across row 3, columns 1-2, must add to 5, the three cells at row 4, columns 2-3, plus row 5, column 3, must all match, and the pair across row 6, columns 2-3, must match each other.
The column 1 equals pair is all 6s, arriving on two dominoes: the 6-1 domino lying across the top row, columns 1-2, whose 6 sits at column 1 and whose 1 fills the less-than-2 cell, and the 6-3 domino standing in column 1, rows 2-3, whose 3 starts the sum-5 pair in row 3. That pair is completed by the 2 at row 3, column 2, the top of the 1-2 domino standing in column 2, rows 3-4.
The three-cell equals region is all 1s: the 1 at the bottom of the 1-2 domino at row 4, column 2, and the 1-1 domino standing in column 3, rows 4-5. The last pair, across row 6, columns 2-3, is the 5-5 domino, all 5s on its own.
The Easy solution
The solved Easy board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 6-1 across row 1, columns 1-2 · 6-3 down column 1, rows 2-3 · 1-2 down column 2, rows 3-4 · 1-1 down column 3, rows 4-5 · 5-5 across row 6, columns 2-3
- All equal 6 = 6
- Less than 2 1 = 1
- Adds to 5 3 + 2
- All equal 1 = 1 = 1
- All equal 5 = 5
Medium board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Rodolfo Kurchan · Tap to show one hint at a time.
Start with the two pinned single cells in row 3: column 1 must beat 2, and column 5 must add to exactly 0. Around them: the pair across row 2, columns 2-3, must match each other, the pair across row 2, columns 4-5, must add to 8, the three cells across row 3, columns 2-4, must add to 11, the pair across row 4, columns 3-4, must add to 5, and the single cell at row 5, column 2 must beat 1. Two single cells carry no rule at all: row 1, column 4 and row 4, column 2.
The row 2 equals pair is the 2-2 domino lying across columns 2-3 on its own. The sum-8 pair reads 3 beside 5: the 3 at row 2, column 4 is the bottom of the 3-3 domino standing in column 4, rows 1-2, whose other 3 sits in the empty cell at the top, and the 5 at row 2, column 5 is the top of the 0-5 domino standing in column 5, rows 2-3, whose 0 fills the pinned zero at row 3. The greater-than-2 cell at row 3, column 1 is the 4 of the 1-4 domino lying across row 3, columns 1-2, whose 1 starts the sum-11 row.
The sum-11 row reads 1, 5, 5: the 1 of the 1-4 domino, and the 5s at the tops of two dominoes standing below it, the 5-3 domino in column 3, rows 3-4, and the 5-2 domino in column 4, rows 3-4. Their bottoms complete the sum-5 pair in row 4, reading 3 beside 2. The last domino, the 2-1, stands in column 2, rows 4-5: its 1 sits in the empty cell in row 4 and its 2 clears the greater-than-1 cell in row 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: 3-3 down column 4, rows 1-2 · 2-2 across row 2, columns 2-3 · 0-5 down column 5, rows 2-3 · 1-4 across row 3, columns 1-2 · 5-3 down column 3, rows 3-4 · 5-2 down column 4, rows 3-4 · 2-1 down column 2, rows 4-5
- All equal 2 = 2
- Adds to 8 3 + 5
- Greater than 2 4 = 4
- Adds to 11 1 + 5 + 5
- Adds to 0 0
- Adds to 5 3 + 2
- Greater than 1 2 = 2
- No rule 2 cells 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 big board with 15 dominoes. Work the pinned single cells first: row 1, column 6 must add to exactly 1, row 2, column 1 to exactly 5, row 4, columns 2, 4 and 5 to exactly 3, 2 and 3, row 5, column 2 to exactly 3, row 5, column 4 to exactly 4, and row 6, columns 1, 5 and 6 to exactly 1, 0 and 2, while row 6, column 4 must beat 5 and the pair across row 6, columns 2-3, must total less than 3. Two four-cell equals regions must match within themselves: row 1, columns 1-3, plus row 2, column 2, and the block at rows 1-2, columns 4-5. Around them sit the pair standing in column 6, rows 2-3, which must add to 9, the pair across row 3, columns 1-2, to 5, the pair standing in column 1, rows 4-5, to 7, and the three cells at row 4, column 6, plus row 5, columns 5-6, which must add to 15.
The top-left equals region is all 2s, arriving on three dominoes: the 2-5 domino standing in column 1, rows 1-2, the 2-2 domino lying across the top row, columns 2-3, and the 2 at row 2, column 2, the top of the 2-0 domino standing in column 2, rows 2-3, whose 0 completes the sum-5 pair in row 3 beside the 5 at the bottom of the 2-5 domino. The top block equals region is all 5s, also on three dominoes: the 5-5 domino standing in column 4, rows 1-2, the 5 at row 1, column 5, the end of the 1-5 domino lying across the top row, columns 5-6, whose 1 fills the pinned 1 at column 6, and the 5 at row 2, column 5, the start of the 5-6 domino lying across row 2, columns 5-6.
The sum-9 pair in column 6 reads 6 over 3: that 6 is the end of the 5-6 domino, and the 3 is the top of the 3-6 domino standing in column 6, rows 3-4, whose 6 is the first cell of the sum-15 region. That region is completed by the 5 at row 5, column 5, the top of the 5-0 domino standing in column 5, rows 5-6, whose 0 fills the pinned zero, and the 4 at row 5, column 6, the top of the 4-2 domino standing in column 6, rows 5-6, whose 2 fills the pinned 2 at the bottom. In column 1, the sum-7 pair reads 4 over 3: the 4-5 domino standing in rows 3-4 puts its 4 at the bottom, and the 3 at row 5 is the bottom of the 1-3 domino standing in rows 5-6, whose 1 fills the pinned 1 in row 6. The pinned 3s in rows 4 and 5, column 2, are the 3-3 domino standing there on its own, and the middle pins in row 4, columns 4-5, reading 2 beside 3, are the 2-3 domino lying across them. At the bottom, the less-than-3 pair in row 6 is the 1-0 domino lying across columns 2-3, and the greater-than-5 cell at row 6, column 4 is the 6 of the 4-6 domino standing in column 4, rows 5-6, whose 4 fills the pinned 4 in row 5.
The Hard solution
The solved Hard board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 2-5 down column 1, rows 1-2 · 2-2 across row 1, columns 2-3 · 5-5 down column 4, rows 1-2 · 1-5 across row 1, columns 5-6 · 2-0 down column 2, rows 2-3 · 5-6 across row 2, columns 5-6 · 4-5 down column 1, rows 3-4 · 3-6 down column 6, rows 3-4 · 3-3 down column 2, rows 4-5 · 2-3 across row 4, columns 4-5 · 1-3 down column 1, rows 5-6 · 4-6 down column 4, rows 5-6 · 5-0 down column 5, rows 5-6 · 4-2 down column 6, rows 5-6 · 1-0 across row 6, columns 2-3
- All equal 2 = 2 = 2 = 2
- All equal 5 = 5 = 5 = 5
- Adds to 1 1
- Adds to 5 5
- Adds to 9 6 + 3
- Adds to 5 5 + 0
- Adds to 7 4 + 3
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 2 2
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 15 6 + 5 + 4
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 4 4
- Adds to 1 1
- Less than 3 1 + 0 = 1
- Greater than 5 6 = 6
- Adds to 0 0
- Adds to 2 2