Pips hints and answers for Monday, October 5, 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 15 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.
Two pairs across the top row frame the board: columns 1-2 must add to 4, and columns 3-4 must add to 9. The single cell at row 2, column 1 must be less than 1 - in other words, a 0 - the pair standing in column 2, rows 2-3, must add to 9, the single cell at row 2, column 4 must add to exactly 3, and the pair across row 3, columns 3-4 must add to 6.
The top sum-9 pair is the 4-5 domino lying across columns 3-4 on its own. The column 2 sum-9 pair reads 6 over 3 on two dominoes: the 6-3 domino standing in column 2, rows 1-2, with its 6 at the bottom and its 3 completing the top sum-4 pair, and the 2-3 domino lying across row 3, columns 2-3, with its 3 in column 2 and its 2 starting the sum-6 pair.
The sum-6 pair is completed by the 4 at row 3, column 4, the bottom of the 4-3 domino standing in column 4, rows 2-3, whose 3 on top fills the pinned sum-3 cell. The last domino is the 0-1 domino standing in column 1, rows 1-2: its 0 fills the less-than-1 cell in row 2, and its 1 completes the top sum-4 pair.
The Easy solution
The solved Easy board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 0-1 down column 1, rows 1-2 · 6-3 down column 2, rows 1-2 · 4-5 across row 1, columns 3-4 · 4-3 down column 4, rows 2-3 · 2-3 across row 3, columns 2-3
- Adds to 4 1 + 3
- Adds to 9 4 + 5
- Less than 1 0 = 0
- Adds to 9 6 + 3
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 6 2 + 4
Medium board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Rodolfo Kurchan · Tap to show one hint at a time.
Start with the three cells across row 3, columns 1-3, which must all match each other. The pair standing in column 3, rows 1-2, must add to 7, and single cells carry their own caps: row 1, column 4 must be less than 5, row 2, column 1 must add to exactly 4, row 2, column 2 must be less than 6, row 4, column 3 must beat 4, row 4, column 4 must be less than 2, and row 4, column 5 must be less than 4.
The equals triple is all 3s: the 3-3 domino lying across row 3, columns 1-2, and the third 3 at row 3, column 3, from the 5-3 domino standing in column 3, rows 3-4, whose 5 at the bottom clears the greater-than-4 cell in row 4. The sum-7 pair reads 2 over 5: the 5-2 domino standing in column 3, rows 1-2, with its 5 at the bottom and its 2 on top.
The right-hand caps fall in a line: the 4-6 domino standing in column 4, rows 1-2, puts its 4 in the less-than-5 cell and its 6 in the empty cell below, the 1-4 domino standing in column 4, rows 3-4, puts its 4 in row 3 and its 1 in the less-than-2 cell, and the 2-6 domino standing in column 5, rows 3-4, puts its 6 in row 3 and its 2 in the less-than-4 cell. On the left, the pinned 4 at row 2, column 1 is the end of the 5-4 domino lying across row 2, columns 1-2, whose 5 clears the less-than-6 cell.
The Medium solution
The solved Medium board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 5-2 down column 3, rows 1-2 · 4-6 down column 4, rows 1-2 · 5-4 across row 2, columns 1-2 · 3-3 across row 3, columns 1-2 · 5-3 down column 3, rows 3-4 · 1-4 down column 4, rows 3-4 · 2-6 down column 5, rows 3-4
- Adds to 7 2 + 5
- Less than 5 4 = 4
- Adds to 4 4
- Less than 6 5 = 5
- All equal 3 = 3 = 3
- Greater than 4 5 = 5
- Less than 2 1 = 1
- Less than 4 2 = 2
- No rule 3 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.
Work the pinned single cells first: row 1, column 1 must add to exactly 6, row 1, column 3 must add to exactly 0, row 1, column 5 must add to exactly 3, row 2, column 3 must add to exactly 4, row 3, column 1 must add to exactly 6, row 3, column 2 must add to exactly 3, row 4, column 6 must add to exactly 6, row 5, column 2 must add to exactly 2, row 5, column 3 must add to exactly 1, row 5, column 5 must add to exactly 2, and row 6, column 2 must add to exactly 2. Around them sit the bigger regions: the three cells at row 1, column 2, plus row 2, columns 1-2, must add to just 1, the pair standing in column 6, rows 1-2, must add to 8, the three cells standing in column 1, rows 4-6, must add to 9, the pair across row 3, columns 5-6, must add to just 1, and the three cells at row 5, column 4, plus row 6, columns 3-4, must add to 14. Two equals regions must match within themselves: the three cells at row 1, column 4, plus row 2, columns 4-5, and the three cells at row 5, column 6, plus row 6, columns 5-6.
The top equals triple is all 2s, arriving on three dominoes: the 3-2 domino lying across the top row, columns 4-5, with its 2 in column 4, the 2-4 domino lying across row 2, columns 3-4, with its 2 in column 4 and its 4 filling the pinned 4 beside it, and the 0-2 domino standing in column 5, rows 2-3, with its 2 on top. The bottom equals triple is all 0s: the 5-0 domino lying across row 6, columns 4-5, with its 0 in column 5, and the 0-0 domino standing in column 6, rows 5-6.
The sum-1 region in the top-left is a 1 and two 0s: the 1 is the end of the 0-1 domino lying across the top row, columns 2-3, whose 0 fills the pinned zero cell, and the 0s below it come from the 0-6 domino standing in column 1, rows 1-2, whose 6 fills the pinned 6 at the top, and the 3-0 domino standing in column 2, rows 2-3, whose 0 sits in row 2 and whose 3 fills the pinned 3 at row 3, column 2. The sum-14 region reads 6, 3, 5: the 2-6 domino lying across row 5, columns 4-5, with its 6 in column 4 and its 2 filling the pinned 2 at column 5, the 3 at the bottom of the 1-3 domino standing in column 3, rows 5-6, and the 5 at the start of the 5-0 domino. And the column 1 sum-9 region is three 3s: the bottom of the 6-3 domino standing in column 1, rows 3-4, and the 3-3 domino standing in column 1, rows 5-6.
The Hard solution
The solved Hard board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 0-6 down column 1, rows 1-2 · 0-1 across row 1, columns 2-3 · 3-2 across row 1, columns 4-5 · 4-4 down column 6, rows 1-2 · 3-0 down column 2, rows 2-3 · 2-4 across row 2, columns 3-4 · 0-2 down column 5, rows 2-3 · 6-3 down column 1, rows 3-4 · 6-1 down column 6, rows 3-4 · 3-3 down column 1, rows 5-6 · 2-2 down column 2, rows 5-6 · 1-3 down column 3, rows 5-6 · 2-6 across row 5, columns 4-5 · 0-0 down column 6, rows 5-6 · 5-0 across row 6, columns 4-5
- Adds to 6 6
- Adds to 1 1 + 0 + 0
- Adds to 0 0
- All equal 2 = 2 = 2
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 8 4 + 4
- Adds to 4 4
- Adds to 6 6
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 1 0 + 1
- Adds to 9 3 + 3 + 3
- Adds to 6 6
- Adds to 2 2
- Adds to 1 1
- Adds to 14 6 + 3 + 5
- Adds to 2 2
- All equal 0 = 0 = 0
- Adds to 2 2