NYT Pips HelperWednesday, August 26, 2026
Hints, answers & a solver for the New York Times Pips puzzle
Today's hintHint archiveAll answers

Pips hints — Monday, August 18, 2025

An archived puzzle. Pick your difficulty for a spoiler-safe nudge, then reveal the full board if you want it.

Monday, August 18, 2025Archived board

Today's Easy board has 4 dominoes across 4 regions, mixing all-equal and target-sum rules. We give you a light nudge first — enough to get unstuck without spoiling the fun — and the full answer only when you ask for it.

Hint 1 — where to start

Easy
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the green region, where one cell must be exactly 5. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Easy
Lay the 5–2 across row 1, columns 3–4 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because green must add up to exactly 5. The 5 half sits in the green region, which must be exactly 5.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — August 18, 2025

22
23
52
66

blue: 3 | purple (=): 2 · 2 · 2 · 2 | green (=5): 5 | amber (=12): 6 · 6

Prefer to watch it worked out step by step? Try the Pips Solver.

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
BlueTake any value it likes1
Purple= — Show the same number on every cell4
Green5 — Be exactly 51
Amber12 — Add up to exactly 122

Today's Medium board has 5 dominoes across 6 regions, mixing less-than, target-sum and greater-than rules. We give you a light nudge first — enough to get unstuck without spoiling the fun — and the full answer only when you ask for it.

Hint 1 — where to start

Medium
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the orange region, where one cell must be exactly 2. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Medium
Lay the 2–6 across row 3, columns 2–3 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because orange must add up to exactly 2. The 2 half sits in the orange region, which must be exactly 2.

Hint 3

Medium
Place the 5–6 domino across row 3, columns 4–5. It is the only tile that works there, because green must add up to exactly 18. The 5 half sits in the slate region, which must be more than 4.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — August 18, 2025

16
44
63
26
56

blue (<13): 3 · 4 · 4 | purple: 6 | green (=18): 6 · 6 · 6 | amber (<3): 1 | orange (=2): 2 | slate (>4): 5

Prefer to watch it worked out step by step? Try the Pips Solver.

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue<13 — Add up to less than 133
PurpleTake any value it likes1
Green18 — Add up to exactly 183
Amber<3 — Be less than 31
Orange2 — Be exactly 21
Slate>4 — Be more than 41

Today's Hard board has 10 dominoes across 10 regions, mixing less-than, all-equal and target-sum rules. We give you a light nudge first — enough to get unstuck without spoiling the fun — and the full answer only when you ask for it.

Hard is where most players get stuck.We break it into small, spoiler-safe nudges so you can stop the moment you’re unstuck.

Hint 1 — where to start

Hard
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the orange region, where one cell must be exactly 1. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Hard
Lay the 1–6 across row 2, columns 2–3 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because orange must add up to exactly 1. The 1 half sits in the orange region, which must be exactly 1.

Hint 3

Hard
Place the 4–5 domino across row 3, columns 8–9. It is the only tile that works there, because brown must add up to exactly 4. The 4 half sits in the brown region, which must be exactly 4.

Hint 4

Hard
The 6–6 belongs down column 7, rows 2–3. It is the only tile that works there, because teal must add up to exactly 18.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — August 18, 2025

00
66
16
11
20
06
26
31
35
45

blue (<3): 1 · 1 | purple: 1 | green (=): 3 · 3 | amber (=): 6 · 6 | orange (=1): 1 | slate (=): 2 · 2 | teal (=18): 6 · 6 · 6 | pink (=10): 5 · 5 | lime (=0): 0 · 0 · 0 · 0 | brown (=4): 4

Prefer to watch it worked out step by step? Try the Pips Solver.

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue<3 — Add up to less than 32
PurpleTake any value it likes1
Green= — Show the same number on every cell2
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell2
Orange1 — Be exactly 11
Slate= — Show the same number on every cell2
Teal18 — Add up to exactly 183
Pink10 — Add up to exactly 102
Lime0 — Add up to exactly 04
Brown4 — Be exactly 41
All hintsFull answers for this dayJun 28 →