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Pips hints — Thursday, March 5, 2026

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

Thursday, March 5, 2026Archived board

The Easy grid runs to 5 regions and 4 tiles, with target-sum, less-than and no-repeats 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
Start with the blue region — its one cell 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 3–3: down column 3, rows 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must add up to exactly 3. The 3 half sits in the blue region, which must be exactly 3.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — March 5, 2026

26
33
52
10

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue3 — Be exactly 31
Purple<1 — Be less than 11
Green≠ — Have no two cells showing the same number4
AmberTake any value it likes1
Orange5 — Be exactly 51

The Medium grid runs to 9 regions and 8 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

Medium
Start with the blue region — its one cell must be exactly 4. 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 1, columns 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must add up to exactly 4. The 4 half sits in the blue region, which must be exactly 4.

Hint 3

Medium
Lay the 3–1 across row 2, columns 4–5 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because amber must add up to exactly 1. The 3 half sits in the purple region, which must show the same number on every cell.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — March 5, 2026

54
31
66
50
43
00
61
22

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue4 — Be exactly 41
Purple= — Show the same number on every cell2
Green= — Show the same number on every cell3
Amber1 — Be exactly 11
Orange1 — Be exactly 11
Slate2 — Add up to exactly 23
Teal4 — Be exactly 41
Pink= — Show the same number on every cell2
Lime2 — Add up to exactly 22

The Hard grid runs to 16 regions and 14 tiles, with target-sum, all-equal, 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.

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
Start with the purple region — its one cell must be exactly 1. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Hard
There is exactly one home for the 0–6: across row 2, columns 5–6. It is the only tile that works there, because amber must add up to exactly 0.

Hint 3

Hard
Lay the 4–6 across row 5, columns 7–8 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because slate must add up to exactly 6. The 4 half sits in the green region, which must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 4

Hard
Place the 0–3 domino down column 5, rows 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because amber must add up to exactly 0.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — March 5, 2026

02
03
05
06
14
16
22
23
25
26
34
36
46
55

blue: 6 | purple (=1): 1 | green (=): 2 · 2 | amber (=0): 0 · 0 | orange (=6): 6 | slate (=4): 3 · 1 | teal (=4): 2 · 2 | pink (=8): 3 · 5 | lime (<2): 0 | brown (>4): 5 | blue (=12): 6 · 6 | purple (=6): 3 · 3 | green (=): 4 · 4 · 4 | amber (=2): 0 · 2 | orange (=12): 2 · 5 · 5 | slate (=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
Purple1 — Be exactly 11
Green= — Show the same number on every cell2
Amber0 — Add up to exactly 02
Orange6 — Be exactly 61
Slate4 — Add up to exactly 42
Teal4 — Add up to exactly 42
Pink8 — Add up to exactly 82
Lime<2 — Be less than 21
Brown>4 — Be more than 41
Blue12 — Add up to exactly 122
Purple6 — Add up to exactly 62
Green= — Show the same number on every cell3
Amber2 — Add up to exactly 22
Orange12 — Add up to exactly 123
Slate6 — Be exactly 61
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