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Pips hints — Saturday, January 31, 2026

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

Saturday, January 31, 2026Archived board

The Easy grid runs to 12 regions and 7 tiles, with target-sum, less-than and greater-than rules in play. 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
Look at the blue region first. Across one cell it has to be exactly 2. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Easy
Place the 0–2 domino down column 4, rows 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because green must add up to exactly 0. The 0 half sits in the green region, which must be exactly 0.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — January 31, 2026

06
05
04
03
02
01
00

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue2 — Be exactly 21
Purple<5 — Be less than 51
Green0 — Be exactly 01
Amber<4 — Be less than 41
OrangeTake any value it likes1
Slate0 — Be exactly 01
Teal0 — Be exactly 01
Pink1 — Be exactly 11
Lime0 — Add up to exactly 03
Brown0 — Be exactly 01
Blue>5 — Be more than 51
Purple0 — Be exactly 01

The Medium grid runs to 8 regions and 7 tiles, with target-sum, greater-than and all-equal rules in play. 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
Look at the green region first. Across one cell it has to be more than 3. Only 3 pip combinations fit it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Medium
Place the 4–6 domino across row 3, columns 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because amber must add up to exactly 10. The 4 half sits in the slate region, which must add up to exactly 7.

Hint 3

Medium
The 2–4 belongs down column 4, rows 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because amber must add up to exactly 10. The 2 half sits in the purple region, which must add up to exactly 4.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — January 31, 2026

23
46
31
56
24
55
61

blue (=4): 3 · 1 | purple (=4): 2 · 2 | green (>3): 6 | amber (=10): 4 · 6 | orange (=): 5 · 5 · 5 | slate (=7): 3 · 4 | teal: 1 | pink (>2): 6

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue4 — Add up to exactly 42
Purple4 — Add up to exactly 42
Green>3 — Be more than 31
Amber10 — Add up to exactly 102
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell3
Slate7 — Add up to exactly 72
TealTake any value it likes1
Pink>2 — Be more than 21
All hintsFull answers for this dayJun 28 →