NYT Pips HelperWednesday, September 16, 2026

Pips answers — Wednesday, September 16, 2026

The finished Easy, Medium and Hard boards for this day, with every region rule satisfied.

Easy #1,277

Easy

blue: 1 | purple: 1 | green (>4): 6 | amber (<4): 0 | orange (=): 4 · 4 | slate (<1): 0 | teal (=): 3 · 3 | pink (<6): 5

Medium #1,282

Medium

blue (>3): 6 | purple (=): 1 · 1 · 1 | green (=): 5 · 5 · 5 | amber (=3): 3 | orange (<3): 0 | slate (=): 4 · 4 · 4 | teal (=): 1 · 1

Hard #1,289

Hard

blue (≠): 3 · 2 · 1 · 5 | purple (=7): 2 · 2 · 3 | green (=4): 4 | amber (=10): 5 · 5 | orange (=11): 5 · 6 | slate (=15): 5 · 5 · 5 | teal (<5): 4 | pink (=2): 1 · 1 · 0 · 0 | lime (=14): 6 · 4 · 4 | brown (=4): 2 · 2 | blue (=4): 4

Spoiler note: this page shows the finished boards. Want only a nudge instead? Open the hints for September 16, where the answer stays behind one extra click.

Easy board — region rules

RegionRuleCells
BlueTake any value it likes1
PurpleTake any value it likes1
Green>4 — Be more than 41
Amber<4 — Be less than 41
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell2
Slate<1 — Be less than 11
Teal= — Show the same number on every cell2
Pink<6 — Be less than 61

Medium board — region rules

RegionRuleCells
Blue>3 — Be more than 31
Purple= — Show the same number on every cell3
Green= — Show the same number on every cell3
Amber3 — Be exactly 31
Orange<3 — Be less than 31
Slate= — Show the same number on every cell3
Teal= — Show the same number on every cell2

Hard board — region rules

RegionRuleCells
Blue — Have no two cells showing the same number4
Purple7 — Add up to exactly 73
Green4 — Be exactly 41
Amber10 — Add up to exactly 102
Orange11 — Add up to exactly 112
Slate15 — Add up to exactly 153
Teal<5 — Be less than 51
Pink2 — Add up to exactly 24
Lime14 — Add up to exactly 143
Brown4 — Add up to exactly 42
Blue4 — Be exactly 41
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