Pips hints and answers for Wednesday, October 7, 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 also by Livengood with 7 dominoes, and a Hard board by Rodolfo Kurchan with 12 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 sum-9 pairs frame this board: one standing in column 4, rows 1-2, and one lying across the bottom row, columns 3-4. The pair across the top row, columns 1-2, must add to just 1, the single cell at row 1, column 3 must beat 2, and the single cell at row 1, column 5 must beat 1.
The bottom sum-9 pair reads 4 beside 5, arriving on two dominoes: the 4-1 domino lies across the bottom row, columns 2-3, with its 4 in column 3, and the 5-4 domino stands in column 4, rows 2-3, with its 5 at the bottom. Its 4 in row 2 is also the lower half of the top sum-9 pair, whose 5 arrives from the 2-5 domino lying across the top row, columns 4-5.
The top-left sum-1 pair reads 1 beside 0: the 1-2 domino stands in column 1, rows 1-2, with its 1 on top, and the 0-3 domino lies across the top row, columns 2-3, with its 0 in column 2 and its 3 beating 2 in column 3. The other greater-than cell, at column 5, is cleared by the 2 at the end of the 2-5 domino, which beats 1.
The Easy solution
The solved Easy board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 1-2 down column 1, rows 1-2 · 0-3 across row 1, columns 2-3 · 2-5 across row 1, columns 4-5 · 5-4 down column 4, rows 2-3 · 4-1 across row 3, columns 2-3
- Adds to 1 1 + 0
- Greater than 2 3 = 3
- Adds to 9 5 + 4
- Greater than 1 2 = 2
- Adds to 9 4 + 5
- 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 equals triple in the top-left - row 1, column 2, plus row 2, columns 1-2, must all match - and the single cell at row 2, column 3, which must beat 4. A wide seven-cell region covering row 3 and the middle of row 4 must total less than 2 between all its cells, and the single cell at row 5, column 1 must add to exactly 4.
The equals triple is all 3s: the 3-3 domino stands in column 2, rows 1-2, and the third 3, at row 2, column 1, arrives from the 3-0 domino standing in column 1, rows 2-3. The greater-than cell beside them is a 6, from the 0-6 domino standing in column 3, rows 2-3, with its 6 on top.
The wide less-than region is six 0s and a single 1: the 0s come from the 3-0, 0-6, 0-0 and 0-1 dominoes and the 4-0 domino standing in column 3, rows 4-5, and the 1 sits at row 4, column 4, the bottom of the 0-1 domino. The pinned 4 at row 5, column 1 belongs to the 1-4 domino standing in column 1, rows 4-5, with its 1 above the 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: 3-3 down column 2, rows 1-2 · 3-0 down column 1, rows 2-3 · 0-6 down column 3, rows 2-3 · 0-0 down column 2, rows 3-4 · 0-1 down column 4, rows 3-4 · 1-4 down column 1, rows 4-5 · 4-0 down column 3, rows 4-5
- All equal 3 = 3 = 3
- Greater than 4 6 = 6
- Less than 2 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 1 = 1
- Adds to 4 4
- 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.
Work the framed regions first: the three cells across the top row, columns 1-3, must beat 10 between them, the three cells standing in column 1, rows 2-4, must beat 6, the pair standing in column 5, rows 2-3, must add to 6, and the three cells standing in column 8, rows 2-4, must all match each other. Two single cells are pinned exactly: row 1, column 5 at 5 and row 4, column 5 at 0.
The column 8 equals triple is all 0s, arriving on two dominoes: the 2-0 domino stands in column 8, rows 1-2, with its 0 at the bottom, and the 0-0 domino stands in column 8, rows 3-4. At the other corner, the bottom-right equals triple is all 6s: the 6-6 domino stands in column 8, rows 5-6, and the third 6, at row 6, column 7, arrives from the 4-6 domino lying across the bottom row, columns 6-7.
The not-equal triple at the bottom-left - row 5, column 1, plus row 6, columns 1-2 - reads 4, 1, 3, all different: the 4-1 domino stands in column 1, rows 5-6, and the 3 comes from the 3-5 domino lying across the bottom row, columns 2-3, whose 5 fills the pinned single cell at row 6, column 3. Beside it, the sum-11 region reads 3, 4, 4 from the 4-3 domino standing in column 5, rows 5-6, with its 3 on top, and that same 4-6 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: 3-1 down column 1, rows 1-2 · 6-2 across row 1, columns 2-3 · 5-1 down column 5, rows 1-2 · 2-0 down column 8, rows 1-2 · 4-2 down column 1, rows 3-4 · 5-0 down column 5, rows 3-4 · 0-0 down column 8, rows 3-4 · 4-1 down column 1, rows 5-6 · 4-3 down column 5, rows 5-6 · 6-6 down column 8, rows 5-6 · 3-5 across row 6, columns 2-3 · 4-6 across row 6, columns 6-7
- Greater than 10 3 + 6 + 2 = 11
- Adds to 5 5
- Greater than 6 1 + 4 + 2 = 7
- Adds to 6 1 + 5
- All equal 0 = 0 = 0
- Adds to 0 0
- All different 4, 1, 3
- Adds to 11 3 + 4 + 4
- All equal 6 = 6 = 6
- Adds to 5 5
- No rule 1 cell in blank regions, free to take any value