Pips hints and answers for Tuesday, October 6, 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. Tuesday's three boards were edited by Ian Livengood: an Easy board by Livengood with 5 dominoes, a Medium board also by Livengood with 7 dominoes, and a Hard board by Rodolfo Kurchan with 13 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.
The pair across the top row, columns 2-4, must add to just 2, and the pair across row 2, columns 1-2, must add to 10. The pair across row 3, columns 3-4, must add to 8, and the single cell at row 4, column 4 must beat 2.
The sum-10 pair reads 6 beside 4, arriving on two dominoes: the 6-6 domino stands in column 1, rows 2-3, with its top 6 in the pair, and the 4-2 domino stands in column 2, rows 1-2, with its 4 at the bottom and its 2 starting the top sum-2 region. That region is completed by the 0-0 domino lying across row 1, columns 3-4.
The sum-8 pair reads 3 beside 5: the 3 comes from the 3-2 domino standing in column 3, rows 2-3, with its 3 at the bottom and its 2 in row 2, and the 5 comes from the 5-3 domino standing in column 4, rows 3-4, whose 3 at the bottom clears the greater-than-2 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: 4-2 down column 2, rows 1-2 · 0-0 across row 1, columns 3-4 · 6-6 down column 1, rows 2-3 · 3-2 down column 3, rows 2-3 · 5-3 down column 4, rows 3-4
- Adds to 2 2 + 0 + 0
- Adds to 10 6 + 4
- Adds to 8 3 + 5
- Greater than 2 3 = 3
- No rule 2 cells in blank regions, free to take any value
Medium board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Ian Livengood · Tap to show one hint at a time.
Start with the two equals pairs: the pair standing in column 3, rows 1-2, and the pair lying across row 2, columns 1-2, must each match within themselves. Two single cells are capped: row 1, column 4 must be less than 2, and row 2, column 4 must be less than 4. The pair standing in column 1, rows 3-4, must add to 12, the pair across row 3, columns 2-3 must match, the pair standing in column 4, rows 3-4 must add to 10, and the pair across row 4, columns 2-3 must add to 5.
The row 2 equals pair is the 4-4 domino lying across columns 1-2 on its own. The column 3 equals pair is all 5s on two dominoes: the 5-0 domino lying across the top row, columns 3-4, whose 0 also clears the less-than-2 cell, and the 2-5 domino lying across row 2, columns 3-4, whose 5 sits in column 3 and whose 2 clears the less-than-4 cell. The sum-12 column is two 6s on two dominoes: the 6-1 domino lying across row 3, columns 1-2, and the 6-2 domino lying across row 4, columns 1-2.
The row 3 equals pair is all 1s: the 1 at column 2 is the end of the 6-1 domino, and the 1 at column 3 is the top of the 1-3 domino standing in column 3, rows 3-4, whose 3 completes the sum-5 pair in row 4 beside the 2 at the end of the 6-2 domino. The sum-10 column is the 5-5 domino standing in column 4, rows 3-4.
The Medium solution
The solved Medium board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 5-0 across row 1, columns 3-4 · 4-4 across row 2, columns 1-2 · 2-5 across row 2, columns 3-4 · 6-1 across row 3, columns 1-2 · 1-3 down column 3, rows 3-4 · 5-5 down column 4, rows 3-4 · 6-2 across row 4, columns 1-2
- All equal 5 = 5
- Less than 2 0 = 0
- All equal 4 = 4
- Less than 4 2 = 2
- Adds to 12 6 + 6
- All equal 1 = 1
- Adds to 10 5 + 5
- Adds to 5 2 + 3
Hard board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Rodolfo Kurchan · Tap to show one hint at a time.
Work the big column first: the four cells standing in column 3, rows 2-5, must add to 24 between them. A four-cell region in the top-left - row 1, columns 1-3, plus the cell below the first of them - must add to 11, and the pair across the top row, columns 7-8, must add to 7. Two equals regions must match within themselves: the pair standing in column 1, rows 3-4, and the three cells at row 3, columns 7-8, plus the cell below the second of them. Single cells carry their own rules too: row 1, column 5 must be less than 2, row 3, column 2 must beat 2, row 3, column 5 must add to exactly 5, row 4, column 5 must add to exactly 0, and row 5, column 1 must beat 4, while the pair across row 5, columns 5-6, must total less than 7 and the pair across row 5, columns 7-8, must total less than 5.
The sum-24 column is all 6s, arriving on three dominoes: the 2-6 domino standing in column 3, rows 1-2, the 3-6 domino lying across row 3, columns 2-3, and the 6-6 domino standing in column 3, rows 4-5. The column 1 equals pair is all 4s: the 3-4 domino standing in column 1, rows 2-3, with its 4 at the bottom, and the 4-6 domino standing in column 1, rows 4-5, with its 4 on top.
The three-cell equals region on the right is all 4s: the 4-4 domino lying across row 3, columns 7-8, and the 4 at row 4, column 8, from the 2-4 domino standing in column 8, rows 4-5, whose 2 at row 5 completes the less-than-5 pair beside the 2 at row 5, column 7 from the 2-2 domino lying across row 5, columns 6-7. That same domino's 2 at column 6 completes the less-than-7 pair beside the 4 at row 5, column 5, the bottom of the 4-0 domino standing in column 5, rows 4-5, whose 0 fills the pinned zero cell above it. Across the top, the sum-7 pair is the 2-5 domino lying across columns 7-8, the less-than-2 cell at row 1, column 5 is the 1 of the 1-2 domino lying across columns 5-6, and the top-left sum-11 region reads 3, 3, 2, 3 from the 3-3 domino lying across the top row, columns 1-2, the 2 at the top of the 2-6 domino, and the 3 at the top of the 3-4 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: 3-3 across row 1, columns 1-2 · 2-6 down column 3, rows 1-2 · 1-2 across row 1, columns 5-6 · 2-5 across row 1, columns 7-8 · 3-4 down column 1, rows 2-3 · 4-5 down column 5, rows 2-3 · 3-6 across row 3, columns 2-3 · 4-4 across row 3, columns 7-8 · 4-6 down column 1, rows 4-5 · 6-6 down column 3, rows 4-5 · 4-0 down column 5, rows 4-5 · 2-4 down column 8, rows 4-5 · 2-2 across row 5, columns 6-7
- Adds to 11 3 + 3 + 2 + 3
- Less than 2 1 = 1
- Adds to 7 2 + 5
- Adds to 24 6 + 6 + 6 + 6
- All equal 4 = 4
- Greater than 2 3 = 3
- Adds to 5 5
- All equal 4 = 4 = 4
- Adds to 0 0
- Greater than 4 6 = 6
- Less than 7 4 + 2 = 6
- Less than 5 2 + 2 = 4
- No rule 2 cells in blank regions, free to take any value