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Pips hints — Friday, January 9, 2026

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

Friday, January 9, 2026Archived board

Today's Easy board has 5 dominoes across 7 regions, mixing target-sum, less-than, greater-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.

Hint 1 — where to start

Easy
The blue region is the anchor: one cell, and it must be exactly 3. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

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

Easy solution — January 9, 2026

11
33
63
45
61

blue (=3): 3 | purple (<2): 1 | green (=9): 6 · 3 | amber (>4): 6 | orange (=): 1 · 1 | slate (=8): 3 · 5 | teal: 4

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue3 — Be exactly 31
Purple<2 — Be less than 21
Green9 — Add up to exactly 92
Amber>4 — Be more than 41
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell2
Slate8 — Add up to exactly 82
TealTake any value it likes1

Today's Medium board has 8 dominoes across 10 regions, mixing all-equal, greater-than, target-sum and less-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
The teal region is the anchor: one cell, and it must be exactly 3. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Medium
There is exactly one home for the 4–3: across row 3, columns 2–3. It is the only tile that works there, because teal must add up to exactly 3. The 4 half sits in the slate region, which must add up to exactly 14.

Hint 3

Medium
Lay the 0–2 down column 1, rows 3–4 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because pink must add up to less than 1. The 0 half sits in the pink region, which must be less than 1.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — January 9, 2026

33
52
53
02
45
66
43
15

blue (=): 3 · 3 · 3 | purple (>3): 4 | green: 5 | amber (=17): 5 · 6 · 6 | orange: 2 | slate (=14): 4 · 5 · 5 | teal (=3): 3 | pink (<1): 0 | lime: 1 | brown (>1): 2

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue= — Show the same number on every cell3
Purple>3 — Be more than 31
GreenTake any value it likes1
Amber17 — Add up to exactly 173
OrangeTake any value it likes1
Slate14 — Add up to exactly 143
Teal3 — Be exactly 31
Pink<1 — Be less than 11
LimeTake any value it likes1
Brown>1 — Be more than 11

Today's Hard board has 12 dominoes across 9 regions, mixing 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
The green region is the anchor: one cell, and it must take any value it likes. Only 7 pip combinations fit it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Hard
There is exactly one home for the 4–5: across row 4, columns 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 3

Hard
Lay the 4–4 down column 3, rows 1–2 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 4

Hard
Place the 2–3 domino down column 2, rows 4–5. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must show the same number on every cell.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — January 9, 2026

11
36
03
15
13
23
55
45
22
46
26
44

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue= — Show the same number on every cell4
Purple= — Show the same number on every cell4
GreenTake any value it likes1
AmberTake any value it likes1
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell4
Slate= — Show the same number on every cell4
Teal= — Show the same number on every cell4
PinkTake any value it likes1
LimeTake any value it likes1
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