NYT Pips HelperSunday, August 30, 2026
Today's hintHint archiveAll answers

Pips hints — Tuesday, February 3, 2026

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

Tuesday, February 3, 2026Archived board

The Easy grid runs to 6 regions and 5 tiles, with target-sum 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

Easy
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the purple region, where two cells must add up to exactly 2. Only 3 pip combinations fit it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Easy
Place the 5–1 domino down column 3, rows 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must add up to exactly 2. The 5 half sits in the amber region, which must add up to exactly 8.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — February 3, 2026

51
60
66
30
16

blue: 0 | purple (=2): 1 · 1 | green (=): 6 · 6 | amber (=8): 3 · 5 | orange (=): 6 · 6 | slate: 0

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
BlueTake any value it likes1
Purple2 — Add up to exactly 22
Green= — Show the same number on every cell2
Amber8 — Add up to exactly 82
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell2
SlateTake any value it likes1

The Medium grid runs to 10 regions and 7 tiles, with less-than, greater-than, all-equal and target-sum 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
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the teal 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
Place the 1–5 domino down column 4, rows 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must add up to more than 4. The 1 half sits in the amber region, which must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 3

Medium
The 5–6 belongs down column 1, rows 2–3. It is the only tile that works there, because slate must add up to more than 4. The 5 half sits in the green region, which must show the same number on every cell.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — February 3, 2026

05
11
13
15
34
44
56

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue<4 — Be less than 41
Purple>4 — Be more than 41
Green= — Show the same number on every cell2
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell2
Orange<4 — Add up to less than 42
Slate>4 — Be more than 41
Teal4 — Be exactly 41
Pink= — Show the same number on every cell2
LimeTake any value it likes1
BrownTake any value it likes1

The Hard grid runs to 12 regions and 12 tiles, with all-equal, target-sum 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.

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 0. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Hard
Place the 2–0 domino across row 1, columns 5–6. It is the only tile that works there, because orange must add up to exactly 0. The 2 half sits in the amber region, which must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 3

Hard
The 1–6 belongs across row 6, columns 5–6. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must add up to exactly 1. The 1 half sits in the purple region, which must be exactly 1.

Hint 4

Hard
There is exactly one home for the 6–0: across row 6, columns 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because lime must add up to exactly 2. The 6 half sits in the pink region, which must show the same number on every cell.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — February 3, 2026

65
14
32
15
60
45
20
46
55
42
16
40

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

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= — Show the same number on every cell2
Green= — Show the same number on every cell2
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell2
Orange0 — Be exactly 01
Slate= — Show the same number on every cell2
Teal= — Show the same number on every cell2
Pink= — Show the same number on every cell4
Lime2 — Add up to exactly 23
Brown>3 — Be more than 31
Blue>2 — Be more than 21
Purple1 — Be exactly 11
All hintsFull answers for this day Jul 2 →