Pips hints and answers for Monday, October 12, 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 also by Livengood with 8 dominoes, and a Hard board by Rodolfo Kurchan with 16 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 single cells are pinned almost exactly: the top-left cell must add to exactly 3, and the cell at row 3, column 1 must beat 4, so it can only be a 5 or a 6. Two equals pairs help too: one stands in column 2, rows 1-2, and one lies across the bottom row, columns 2-3.
The pair across the top row, columns 3-4, must beat 8 between them, and it reads 5 beside 5: place the 5-5 domino flat across the top right.
Place the 6-2 domino across the bottom row, columns 1-2: the 6 fills the cell that must beat 4, and the 2 starts the equals pair across columns 2-3 of that row, which the 2-0 domino finishes with its 0 in column 4, the cell that must stay under 3.
The Easy solution
The solved Easy board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 3-2 across row 1, columns 1-2 · 5-5 across row 1, columns 3-4 · 2-4 across row 2, columns 2-3 · 6-2 across row 3, columns 1-2 · 2-0 across row 3, columns 3-4
- Adds to 3 3
- All equal 2 = 2
- Greater than 8 5 + 5 = 10
- Greater than 4 6 = 6
- All equal 2 = 2
- Less than 3 0 = 0
- No rule 1 cell 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 pinned singles and the long equals run: the cell at row 1, column 4 must beat 4, the cell at row 2, column 1 must stay under 2, and the three cells across row 2, columns 4-6, must all match each other.
The equals run in row 2 is all 4s, arriving on two dominoes: the 0-4 domino lying across row 2, columns 3-4, and the 4-4 domino lying across columns 5-6.
The pair across the bottom row, columns 3-4, must add to 2, and it reads 2 and 0: the 3-2 domino stands in column 3, rows 3-4, with its 2 at the bottom, and the 3-0 domino stands in column 4, rows 3-4, with its 0 at the bottom.
The Medium solution
The solved Medium board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 3-5 across row 1, columns 3-4 · 2-1 across row 2, columns 1-2 · 0-4 across row 2, columns 3-4 · 4-4 across row 2, columns 5-6 · 2-4 across row 3, columns 1-2 · 3-2 down column 3, rows 3-4 · 3-0 down column 4, rows 3-4 · 5-4 across row 3, columns 5-6
- Greater than 4 5 = 5
- Less than 2 1 = 1
- Adds to 2 2 + 0
- All equal 4 = 4 = 4
- Adds to 5 2 + 3
- Adds to 7 3 + 4
- Greater than 4 5 = 5
- Adds to 2 2 + 0
- 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.
This Hard board is built differently: 30 regions for 32 cells, and almost every cell is a single-cell sum region that names its own value exactly. Read the numbers printed on the board as a map, and place dominoes by value first and by shape second.
Only two regions hold more than one cell, and both are sums: the pair across row 2, columns 2-3, must add to 10 and reads 4 and 6, while the pair standing in column 5, rows 4-5, must add to 9 and reads 4 and 5.
There are no doubles on this board at all: every domino pairs two different numbers. The bottom row shows the pattern - its four filled cells, columns 2-5, read 3, 5, 2, 0, arriving from the 3-5 domino standing in column 2, the 2-5 domino lying across columns 3-4, and the 0-5 domino standing in column 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: 2-4 down column 2, rows 1-2 · 3-6 down column 3, rows 1-2 · 2-3 across row 1, columns 4-5 · 1-4 down column 1, rows 2-3 · 1-5 down column 4, rows 2-3 · 3-4 across row 2, columns 5-6 · 1-2 down column 2, rows 3-4 · 0-4 down column 3, rows 3-4 · 0-2 across row 3, columns 5-6 · 1-3 down column 1, rows 4-5 · 4-5 across row 4, columns 4-5 · 0-3 down column 6, rows 4-5 · 3-5 down column 2, rows 5-6 · 0-1 across row 5, columns 3-4 · 0-5 down column 5, rows 5-6 · 2-5 across row 6, columns 3-4
- Adds to 2 2
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 2 2
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 1 1
- Adds to 10 4 + 6
- Adds to 5 5
- Adds to 4 4
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 4 4
- Adds to 2 2
- Adds to 4 4
- Adds to 1 1
- Adds to 2 2
- Adds to 0 0
- Adds to 1 1
- Adds to 1 1
- Adds to 0 0
- Adds to 5 5
- Adds to 9 4 + 5
- Adds to 0 0
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 5 5
- Adds to 0 0
- Adds to 1 1
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 5 5
- Adds to 2 2
- Adds to 0 0