NYT Pips HelperWednesday, August 26, 2026
Hints, answers & a solver for the New York Times Pips puzzle

Pips hints — Tuesday, October 28, 2025

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

Tuesday, October 28, 2025Archived board

Today's Easy board has 4 dominoes across 6 regions, mixing 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 blue 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

Easy
The 2–1 belongs down column 1, rows 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must add up to exactly 1. The 2 half sits in the purple region, which must add up to exactly 5.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — October 28, 2025

10
03
21
14

blue (=1): 1 | purple (=5): 2 · 3 | green (=0): 0 | amber (=1): 1 | orange (=5): 4 · 1 | slate (=0): 0

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue1 — Be exactly 11
Purple5 — Add up to exactly 52
Green0 — Be exactly 01
Amber1 — Be exactly 11
Orange5 — Add up to exactly 52
Slate0 — Be exactly 01

Today's Medium board has 7 dominoes across 8 regions, mixing target-sum, all-equal 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 purple region, where one cell must be exactly 4. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Medium
The 1–4 belongs across row 2, columns 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must add up to exactly 4. The 1 half sits in the green region, which must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 3

Medium
There is exactly one home for the 6–1: down column 2, rows 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because teal must add up to exactly 6. The 6 half sits in the teal region, which must be exactly 6.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — October 28, 2025

46
11
10
61
20
51
14

blue (=2): 0 · 2 | purple (=4): 4 | green (=): 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 | amber (>4): 5 | orange: 4 | slate (=8): 1 · 6 · 1 | teal (=6): 6 | pink (=0): 0

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue2 — Add up to exactly 22
Purple4 — Be exactly 41
Green= — Show the same number on every cell4
Amber>4 — Be more than 41
OrangeTake any value it likes1
Slate8 — Add up to exactly 83
Teal6 — Be exactly 61
Pink0 — Be exactly 01

Today's Hard board has 13 dominoes across 11 regions, mixing target-sum, less-than and all-equal 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 blue 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
The 1–3 belongs across row 1, columns 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must add up to exactly 1. The 1 half sits in the blue region, which must be exactly 1.

Hint 3

Hard
There is exactly one home for the 6–1: down column 1, rows 4–5. It is the only tile that works there, because brown must add up to exactly 6. The 6 half sits in the brown region, which must be exactly 6.

Hint 4

Hard
Lay the 2–5 across row 4, columns 4–5 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because lime must add up to exactly 5.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — October 28, 2025

05
15
25
35
45
55
65
61
13
23
66
43
62

blue (=1): 1 | purple (<4): 3 | green (=20): 5 · 6 · 5 · 4 | amber (=): 6 · 6 | orange (=17): 2 · 6 · 4 · 5 | slate (=9): 3 · 2 · 3 · 1 · 0 | teal: 5 | pink (=20): 5 · 5 · 5 · 5 | lime (=5): 3 · 2 | brown (=6): 6 | blue: 1

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue1 — Be exactly 11
Purple<4 — Be less than 41
Green20 — Add up to exactly 204
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell2
Orange17 — Add up to exactly 174
Slate9 — Add up to exactly 95
TealTake any value it likes1
Pink20 — Add up to exactly 204
Lime5 — Add up to exactly 52
Brown6 — Be exactly 61
BlueTake any value it likes1
All hintsFull answers for this dayJun 28 →