Today's Pips set is a clean, satisfying climb. Easy gives you a compact 10-cell board where two equal zones do most of the talking. Medium stretches across 14 cells with sum targets that reward careful counting. Hard is the real test: 24 cells, 12 dominoes, and a split board where the left and right halves each hide their own logic. Work the single-cell zones first and the rest will follow.
Today's Pips puzzle details
- Date
- October 9, 2026
- Boards
- Easy, Medium, Hard
- Dominoes
- 5 + 7 + 12
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Spoiler warning: hints below are spoiler-safe. The answer is hidden at the bottom of this page behind a clear reveal button. Scroll carefully.
Today's Pips hints
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Today's set at a glanceStart here
You get three boards today. Easy is a tight 10-cell grid with 5 dominoes, built around two equal zones. Medium has 14 cells and 7 dominoes, with sums ranging from under 3 to over 10. Hard brings 24 cells and 12 dominoes across two separate sections, including a not-equal zone that forces every value to differ.
Easy: the equal zones leadEasy hint
Two equal zones dominate this board: three cells that must all show the same value, and another three the same way. Lock those in first, since equal zones narrow the tray fast. The single pink cell just needs to total exactly 3, and one green cell has no condition at all, so it is free.
Medium: count the sumsMedium hint
The pink zone needs more than 10 across two cells, so it wants big numbers, while the purple zone needs less than 3 across four cells, so it wants small ones. Those two extremes anchor the board. The green pair must total exactly 2 and the blue pair exactly 6, which leaves almost no wiggle room.
Hard: split it in halfHard hint
Treat the two halves separately. On the left, five single-cell zones with exact totals (3, 4, 3, 1, 3) give you fixed values to build around. On the right, the pink zone forbids repeats while the brown zone demands all three cells match. The purple column on the far right must total exactly 5 across three cells.
Pro tipStrongest hint
Single-cell zones are free information: whatever the badge says is the exact value in that cell. Place those domino halves first, then let the equal and sum zones eliminate the rest. On Hard, the not-equal zone is the trickiest, so save it for last when the tray is nearly empty.
Today's Pips answer
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Easy solves through its two equal zones: the purple trio all show 1 and the orange trio all show 2, with the remaining dominoes falling into place around them. Medium hinges on extremes, a pair totaling over 10 against four cells totaling under 3. Hard splits into two halves: the left side is anchored by exact single-cell totals, while the right side balances a not-equal zone against an all-equal trio at the bottom.
How hard is today's Pips?
Difficulty: Moderate
This set rewards working from the most constrained zones outward. Single-cell zones with exact totals are gifts, place them first on every board. Equal zones come next since they collapse the possibilities fast. The trickiest moments are the not-equal zone on Hard, which needs every value to differ, and the blank zones with no condition at all, which beginners sometimes overthink. If a board stalls, recount the sums: one miscounted zone is usually the whole problem.
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What is Pips?
Pips is the New York Times' domino logic puzzle, launched by NYT Games in 2025. It hands you a tray of domino tiles and a board split into colored zones, and your job is to place every tile so that each zone's condition holds true at the same time.
Unlike classic dominoes, matching ends mean nothing here. Instead you are satisfying logic conditions: zones that ask for pips adding to a number, zones where every half must match, or zones where every half must differ. Three fresh boards arrive every day at midnight, one each for Easy, Medium, and Hard.
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Strategy guides
Frequently asked questions
How do you play NYT Pips?
You get a board of colored zones and a set of dominoes. Drag or place every domino onto the grid so that each zone's condition is satisfied. Conditions include equal numbers, exact totals, greater than, less than, and not equal. Uncolored cells have no restriction. You win when every domino is placed and every zone checks out.
What do the symbols on the colored zones mean?
A number means the pips in that zone must add up to exactly that total. An equals sign means every pip in the zone must be the same number. Greater than and less than compare the zone total against the shown number. The not equal symbol means every pip in the zone must be different. Cells with no color ignore all rules.
Can a Pips puzzle have more than one solution?
Yes. The official rules state that a puzzle can have one or more valid solutions. Any arrangement that places every domino and satisfies every zone condition counts as a win, so do not worry if your board looks different from a friend's.
What is the best strategy for the Hard Pips board?
Start with the strictest zones: single cells, equal signs, and exact totals. Each one eliminates whole dominoes from consideration. Work outward into the larger zones only after the anchors are placed, and leave the uncolored free cells for the very end. On today's Hard board, the four single-cell zones place four domino ends before anything else moves.
Where can I play today's Pips puzzle?
The official Pips puzzle is published by the New York Times in its Games app and on its website. You can also play today's Easy, Medium, and Hard boards right here on this page, using the same zones and dominoes, before scrolling down for hints.