Pips hints and answers for Saturday, November 7, 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, a Medium board by Livengood with 7 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.
This board turns on one equals region: the three cells across row 2, columns 2-4 must all hold the same value. Around it, the pair across row 3, columns 4-5 adds to exactly 5, the single at row 3, column 3 is exactly 5 on its own, and the single at row 2, column 1 must beat 0. Three cells carry no rule at all: row 1, column 1, row 3, column 2 and row 4, column 5.
The equals trio is three 4s. The sum-5 pair reads 2 and 3, the pinned single in the middle of row 3 is a 5, and the single that must beat 0 is a 1.
The 4-4 domino lies across row 2, columns 2-3, opening the equals trio, and the 4-2 domino stands in column 4, rows 2-3, its 4 completing the trio and its 2 opening the sum-5 pair. The 3-3 domino stands in column 5, rows 3-4, its top 3 closing the sum at 5. The 5-1 domino stands in column 1, rows 1-2, its 1 beating 0 at the bottom, and the 0-5 domino lies across row 3, columns 2-3, its blank in the free cell and its 5 on the pinned single.
The Easy solution
The solved Easy board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 5-1 down column 1, rows 1-2 · 4-4 across row 2, columns 2-3 · 4-2 down column 4, rows 2-3 · 0-5 across row 3, columns 2-3 · 3-3 down column 5, rows 3-4
- All equal 4 = 4 = 4
- Adds to 5 3 + 2
- Adds to 5 5
- Greater than 0 1 = 1
- No rule 3 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: row 3, columns 4-5 must match each other, and so must row 1, columns 5-6. Two pairs must beat a target rather than hit it: row 1, column 2 plus row 2, column 2 adds to more than 9, and row 1, columns 3-4 adds to more than 8. The pair standing in column 3, rows 2-3 adds to exactly 8, the pair across row 2, columns 5-6 adds to exactly 5, the single at row 2, column 4 is exactly 2, and the single at row 2, column 1 is less than 2.
Both equals pairs are pairs of small numbers: row 3 holds two 0s and the top-right pair is two 2s. The greater-than-9 pair is two 5s, adding to 10, the greater-than-8 pair reads 5 and 4, the sum-8 pair reads 2 over 6, and the single under the less-than-2 cap is a 0.
The 5-5 domino lies across row 1, columns 2-3, and the 4-2 domino lies across row 1, columns 4-5, its 2 opening the top-right equals pair. The 2-3 domino stands in column 6, rows 1-2, its 2 completing that pair and its 3 closing the sum-5 pair below it. The 0-5 domino lies across row 2, columns 1-2, its blank under the less-than-2 cap and its 5 completing the greater-than-9 pair. The 2-2 domino lies across row 2, columns 3-4, its second 2 sitting on the pinned single, and the 2-0 domino stands in column 5, rows 2-3, its 0 opening the row 3 equals pair. The 6-0 domino lies across row 3, columns 3-4, its 6 closing the sum-8 pair and its blank completing the equals pair.
The Medium solution
The solved Medium board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 5-5 across row 1, columns 2-3 · 4-2 across row 1, columns 4-5 · 2-3 down column 6, rows 1-2 · 0-5 across row 2, columns 1-2 · 2-2 across row 2, columns 3-4 · 2-0 down column 5, rows 2-3 · 6-0 across row 3, columns 3-4
- All equal 0 = 0
- All equal 2 = 2
- Greater than 9 5 + 5 = 10
- Less than 2 0 = 0
- Greater than 8 4 + 5 = 9
- Adds to 8 2 + 6
- Adds to 5 2 + 3
- Adds to 2 2
Hard board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Rodolfo Kurchan · Tap to show one hint at a time.
This board is a pinning exercise: nearly every cell is a one-cell sum region that names its own exact value outright. Row 1 reads, column by column, exactly 4, 2, 5, 0 and 1, and the same treatment runs down the whole grid - the only cell with no rule of its own is row 4, column 1, down in the lower left. Work the pinned singles first and the dominoes have almost no freedom left.
The free cell at row 4, column 1 holds a 6 - it has to, because the 3-6 domino is the only one left that can reach it, and its partner 3 sits on the pinned single at row 4, column 2. The bottom row's pinned singles read 4, 1, 3, 5 and 2 across columns 2-6, and row 3 reads 1, 3, 5, 5, 3 and a pinned 0 at the far right.
The 2-4 domino lies across row 1, columns 1-2, and the 0-5 domino lies across row 1, columns 3-4, its blank on the pinned 0 and its 5 on the pinned 5. The 1-4 domino stands in column 5, rows 1-2, and the 1-2 domino stands in column 1, rows 2-3, its 2 at the top and its 1 below. The 0-1 domino lies across row 2, columns 2-3, and the 1-5 domino stands in column 4, rows 2-3, its 5 landing on row 3. The 3-5 domino lies across row 3, columns 2-3, and the 0-3 domino lies across row 3, columns 5-6, its 3 beside the pinned 5 and its blank on the pinned 0 at the edge. The 3-6 domino lies across row 4, columns 1-2, its 6 in the free cell, and the 4-5 domino lies across row 4, columns 4-5. The 0-2 domino stands in column 3, rows 4-5, the 0-4 domino stands in column 2, rows 5-6 with its 4 on the bottom row, and the 2-3 domino lies across row 5, columns 4-5. The 3-4 domino stands in column 6, rows 4-5, the 1-3 domino lies across row 6, columns 3-4, and the 2-5 domino lies across row 6, columns 5-6, its 5 beside the pinned 3 and its 2 closing the board.
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 across row 1, columns 1-2 · 0-5 across row 1, columns 3-4 · 1-4 down column 5, rows 1-2 · 1-2 down column 1, rows 2-3 · 0-1 across row 2, columns 2-3 · 1-5 down column 4, rows 2-3 · 3-5 across row 3, columns 2-3 · 0-3 across row 3, columns 5-6 · 3-6 across row 4, columns 1-2 · 0-2 down column 3, rows 4-5 · 4-5 across row 4, columns 4-5 · 3-4 down column 6, rows 4-5 · 0-4 down column 2, rows 5-6 · 2-3 across row 5, columns 4-5 · 1-3 across row 6, columns 3-4 · 2-5 across row 6, columns 5-6
- Adds to 4 4
- Adds to 2 2
- Adds to 5 5
- Adds to 0 0
- Adds to 1 1
- Adds to 2 2
- Adds to 0 0
- Adds to 1 1
- Adds to 1 1
- Adds to 4 4
- Adds to 1 1
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 5 5
- Adds to 5 5
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 0 0
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 0 0
- Adds to 5 5
- Adds to 4 4
- Adds to 4 4
- Adds to 0 0
- Adds to 2 2
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 2 2
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 4 4
- Adds to 1 1
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 5 5
- Adds to 2 2
- No rule 1 cell in blank regions, free to take any value