Pips hints and answers for Saturday, October 31, 2026
Pips is the NYT domino logic game: place every domino from the tray so that each 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. Today brings three boards, edited by Ian Livengood: an Easy board by Livengood with 5 dominoes, then Medium and Hard boards by Rodolfo Kurchan with 7 and 14 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.
Start with the single cell that names its own value: the cell at row 1, column 1 must add to exactly 2. The pair across row 2, columns 1-2, must add to 12, which takes two big halves, and a three-cell equals region - row 1, columns 2-3, plus the cell below the second of them - must all match.
The equals region is all 3s, and the sum-12 pair in row 2 is two 6s, spending the 6 halves of the 2-6 and 3-6 dominoes. The cell at row 2, column 4 must be less than 3, and the last cell of row 2, column 5, must beat 5 on its own, so it is the board's third 6.
The 2-6 domino stands in column 1, its 2 filling the pinned cell on top and its 6 starting the sum-12 pair, which the 3-6 domino completes with its own 6 in row 2, column 2 - its 3 tops column 2 and starts the equals run. The 3-5 domino lies across row 1, columns 3-4, and the 3-2 domino lies across row 2, columns 3-4, its 2 satisfying the less-than-3 cell. The 1-6 domino stands in column 5: its 1 joins the 5 to beat 5 across the top pair, and its 6 beats 5 alone at the bottom.
The Easy solution
The solved Easy board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 2-6 down column 1, rows 1-2 · 3-6 down column 2, rows 1-2 · 3-5 across row 1, columns 3-4 · 1-6 down column 5, rows 1-2 · 3-2 across row 2, columns 3-4
- Adds to 12 6 + 6
- All equal 3 = 3 = 3
- Adds to 2 2
- Less than 3 2 = 2
- Greater than 5 1 + 5 = 6
- Greater than 5 6 = 6
Medium board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Rodolfo Kurchan · Tap to show one hint at a time.
Start with the pinned single in the bottom row: the cell at row 3, column 3 must add to exactly 6. The pair across row 3, columns 1-2, must add to 5, the pair across row 3, columns 5-6, must beat 5, and the single cell at row 2, column 6 must beat 4. A three-cell equals region - row 2, columns 4-5, plus the cell below the first of them - must all match.
The equals region is all 2s, built from the 2-2 domino standing in column 5 and one half of the 2-0 domino in row 2. The unequal region in the top-left - row 1, column 2, plus row 2, columns 1-2 - reads 3, 1 and 0, no two alike.
The 4-3 domino lies across row 1, columns 2-3: its 4 starts the greater-than-3 pair standing in column 3, which the 0 half of the 2-0 domino completes in row 2, and its 3 opens the unequal region. The 1-0 domino lies across row 2, columns 1-2, finishing that region, and the 2-3 domino lies across row 3, columns 1-2, making the sum of 5 exactly. The 2-6 domino lies across row 3, columns 3-4, its 6 filling the pinned cell, and the 5-4 domino stands in column 6, its 5 beating 4 in row 2 and its 4 helping the bottom pair beat 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: 4-3 across row 1, columns 2-3 · 1-0 across row 2, columns 1-2 · 2-0 across row 2, columns 3-4 · 2-2 down column 5, rows 2-3 · 5-4 down column 6, rows 2-3 · 2-3 across row 3, columns 1-2 · 2-6 across row 3, columns 3-4
- All different 3, 1, 0
- Greater than 3 4 + 0 = 4
- All equal 2 = 2 = 2
- Greater than 4 5 = 5
- Adds to 5 2 + 3
- Adds to 6 6
- Greater than 5 2 + 4 = 6
Hard board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Rodolfo Kurchan · Tap to show one hint at a time.
Start with the cells that name themselves: the singles at row 4, column 2 and row 4, column 4 must each add to exactly 3, the single at row 5, column 6 must add to exactly 1, and the pair standing in column 3, rows 3-4, must add to 0. The big equals region - row 4, columns 5-6, plus row 5, column 5 and row 6, column 5 - must all match.
The equals region is all 4s, and the sum-0 pair in column 3 is the tray's double-zero domino standing on its own. At the bottom, a three-cell region - row 7, columns 5-6, plus row 8, column 5 - must total just 3, and the pair across row 6, columns 6-7, must match exactly.
The 1-2 domino stands in column 3, rows 1-2, making the sum of 3 at the top, and the 0-0 domino stands directly beneath it in rows 3-4. The 3-6 domino stands in column 2, rows 3-4, its 3 filling the pinned 3 in row 4 and its 6 above it. The 4-4 domino lies across row 4, columns 6-7, supplying two of the equals 4s, and the 4-6 domino stands in column 8, rows 3-4: its 6 sits over its 4, keeping the unequal pair in that column different.
The Hard solution
The solved Hard board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 1-2 down column 3, rows 1-2 · 2-3 across row 2, columns 1-2 · 3-6 down column 2, rows 3-4 · 0-0 down column 3, rows 3-4 · 4-6 down column 8, rows 3-4 · 3-4 across row 4, columns 4-5 · 4-4 across row 4, columns 6-7 · 5-2 across row 5, columns 3-4 · 1-4 across row 5, columns 5-6 · 5-5 across row 5, columns 7-8 · 4-5 across row 6, columns 4-5 · 2-2 across row 6, columns 6-7 · 2-0 across row 7, columns 5-6 · 1-3 across row 8, columns 4-5
- Adds to 3 1 + 2
- Adds to 5 2 + 3
- Adds to 0 0 + 0
- All different 6, 4
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 3 3
- All equal 4 = 4 = 4 = 4
- Greater than 8 4 + 5 = 9
- Greater than 4 5 = 5
- Adds to 7 2 + 5
- Adds to 1 1
- All equal 2 = 2
- Adds to 3 2 + 0 + 1
- No rule 3 cells in blank regions, free to take any value