Pips hints and answers for Tuesday, November 10, 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, ready when you are.
Easy board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Ian Livengood · Tap to show one hint at a time.
Two equals pairs anchor this board: the pair standing in column 2, rows 2-3 must match, and so must the pair lying across row 2, columns 3-4. One single must beat its target: row 1, column 3 must beat 4. One single is capped instead: row 2, column 1 is less than 3 on its own. Two pairs are pinned to exact sums: the pair standing in column 4, rows 3-4 adds to exactly 5, and the pair lying across row 4, columns 2-3 adds to exactly 8.
The single that must beat 4 is a 5, and the capped single is a 0. The equals pair in column 2 is two 1s, and the equals pair across row 2 is two 6s. The sum-5 pair in column 4 reads 1 and 4, and the sum-8 pair across row 4 reads 3 and 5.
The 5-6 domino stands in column 3, rows 1-2, its 5 at row 1 and its 6 at row 2. The 0-1 domino lies across row 2, columns 1-2, its 0 at column 1 and its 1 at column 2. The 5-4 domino lies across row 4, columns 3-4, its 5 at column 3 and its 4 at column 4. The 6-1 domino stands in column 4, rows 2-3, its 6 at row 2 and its 1 at row 3. The 1-3 domino stands in column 2, rows 3-4, its 1 at row 3 and its 3 at row 4.
The Easy solution
The solved Easy board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 5-6 down column 3, rows 1-2 · 0-1 across row 2, columns 1-2 · 6-1 down column 4, rows 2-3 · 1-3 down column 2, rows 3-4 · 5-4 across row 4, columns 3-4
- All equal 1 = 1
- All equal 6 = 6
- Adds to 5 1 + 4
- Greater than 4 5 = 5
- Less than 3 0 = 0
- Adds to 8 5 + 3
Medium board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Ian Livengood · Tap to show one hint at a time.
Start with the two pinned singles: row 1, column 4 is exactly 3, and so is row 6, column 2. One pair is pinned to an exact sum: the pair lying across row 4, columns 3-4 adds to exactly 10. Three groups must beat their targets: the pair lying across row 4, columns 1-2 must beat 7, the trio lying across row 5, columns 1-3 must beat 7 as well, and the pair standing in column 4, rows 2-3 must beat 6. One trio is capped instead: row 2, column 3 together with row 3, columns 2-3 must add to less than 3.
The sum-10 pair is two 5s. The row 4 pair that must beat 7 reads 5 and 3, for 8, and the row 5 trio reads 4, 3 and 1, also 8. The column 4 pair reads 4 and 3, for 7. The capped trio is two 1s and a 0, adding to just 2.
The 3-4 domino stands in column 4, rows 1-2, its 3 at row 1 and its 4 at row 2. The 3-3 domino stands in column 2, rows 5-6, its 3 at row 5 and its 3 at row 6. The 1-0 domino stands in column 3, rows 2-3, its 1 at row 2 and its 0 at row 3. The 5-1 domino stands in column 3, rows 4-5, its 5 at row 4 and its 1 at row 5. The 5-4 domino stands in column 1, rows 4-5, its 5 at row 4 and its 4 at row 5. The 1-3 domino stands in column 2, rows 3-4, its 1 at row 3 and its 3 at row 4. The 3-5 domino stands in column 4, rows 3-4, its 3 at row 3 and its 5 at row 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: 3-4 down column 4, rows 1-2 · 1-0 down column 3, rows 2-3 · 1-3 down column 2, rows 3-4 · 3-5 down column 4, rows 3-4 · 5-4 down column 1, rows 4-5 · 5-1 down column 3, rows 4-5 · 3-3 down column 2, rows 5-6
- Adds to 10 5 + 5
- Greater than 7 4 + 3 + 1 = 8
- Greater than 7 5 + 3 = 8
- Less than 3 1 + 1 + 0 = 2
- Greater than 6 3 + 4 = 7
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 3 3
Hard board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Rodolfo Kurchan · Tap to show one hint at a time.
This board is a forest of pinned singles: row 1 alone pins 5 at column 1, 4 at column 4, 4 at column 7, 5 at column 8 and 0 at column 9, and six more singles are pinned below - 4 at row 3, column 2, 5 at row 3, column 3, 0 at row 3, column 4, 4 at row 5, column 3, 5 at row 5, column 4 and 0 at row 5, column 5. Four equals regions demand matches: the pair lying across row 1, columns 5-6, the pair standing in column 1, rows 2-3, the pair lying across row 2, columns 3-4, and the trio at row 3, columns 5-6 together with row 4, column 6. Two pairs add to exactly 4: the pair standing in column 7, rows 2-3, and the pair lying across row 5, columns 8-9. A trio down column 9, rows 2-4, must stay under 4, a trio at row 4, column 7 together with row 5, columns 6-7 adds to exactly 0, one single at row 1, column 3 stays under 4, and one cell carries no rule at all: row 4, column 3.
Every equals region is uniform: the row 1 pair is two 2s, the column 1 pair is two 2s, the row 2 pair is two 1s, and the trio is three 3s. The column 7 pair reads 3 and 1, the row 5 pair is two 2s, the column 9 trio is three 1s adding to 3, and the sum-0 trio is three blanks. The single capped under 4 is a 3.
The 0-0 domino lies across row 5, columns 5-6, its 0 at column 5 and its 0 at column 6. The 0-1 domino stands in column 7, rows 3-4, its 1 at row 3 and its 0 at row 4. The 0-2 domino lies across row 5, columns 7-8, its 0 at column 7 and its 2 at column 8. The 0-3 domino lies across row 3, columns 4-5, its 0 at column 4 and its 3 at column 5. The 0-5 domino lies across row 1, columns 8-9, its 5 at column 8 and its 0 at column 9. The 1-1 domino stands in column 9, rows 2-3, its 1 at row 2 and its 1 at row 3. The 1-2 domino stands in column 9, rows 4-5, its 1 at row 4 and its 2 at row 5. The 1-3 domino stands in column 3, rows 1-2, its 3 at row 1 and its 1 at row 2. The 1-4 domino stands in column 4, rows 1-2, its 4 at row 1 and its 1 at row 2. The 1-5 domino stands in column 3, rows 3-4, its 5 at row 3 and its 1 at row 4. The 2-2 domino lies across row 1, columns 5-6, its 2 at column 5 and its 2 at column 6. The 2-4 domino lies across row 3, columns 1-2, its 2 at column 1 and its 4 at column 2. The 2-5 domino stands in column 1, rows 1-2, its 5 at row 1 and its 2 at row 2. The 3-3 domino stands in column 6, rows 3-4, its 3 at row 3 and its 3 at row 4. The 3-4 domino stands in column 7, rows 1-2, its 4 at row 1 and its 3 at row 2. The 4-5 domino lies across row 5, columns 3-4, its 4 at column 3 and its 5 at column 4.
The Hard solution
The solved Hard board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 2-5 down column 1, rows 1-2 · 1-3 down column 3, rows 1-2 · 1-4 down column 4, rows 1-2 · 2-2 across row 1, columns 5-6 · 3-4 down column 7, rows 1-2 · 0-5 across row 1, columns 8-9 · 1-1 down column 9, rows 2-3 · 2-4 across row 3, columns 1-2 · 1-5 down column 3, rows 3-4 · 0-3 across row 3, columns 4-5 · 3-3 down column 6, rows 3-4 · 0-1 down column 7, rows 3-4 · 1-2 down column 9, rows 4-5 · 4-5 across row 5, columns 3-4 · 0-0 across row 5, columns 5-6 · 0-2 across row 5, columns 7-8
- Adds to 5 5
- Adds to 4 4
- All equal 2 = 2
- Adds to 4 4
- Adds to 5 5
- Adds to 0 0
- All equal 2 = 2
- All equal 1 = 1
- Adds to 4 3 + 1
- Less than 4 1 + 1 + 1 = 3
- Adds to 4 4
- Adds to 5 5
- Adds to 0 0
- All equal 3 = 3 = 3
- Adds to 0 0 + 0 + 0
- Adds to 4 4
- Adds to 5 5
- Adds to 0 0
- Adds to 4 2 + 2
- Less than 4 3 = 3
- No rule 1 cell in blank regions, free to take any value