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Pips hints — Sunday, March 8, 2026

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

Sunday, March 8, 2026Archived board

The Easy grid runs to 8 regions and 5 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

Easy
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the blue region, where one cell must be exactly 3. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

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

Easy solution — March 8, 2026

64
13
30
60
22

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue3 — Be exactly 31
Purple3 — Add up to exactly 32
Green>4 — Be more than 41
Amber3 — Be exactly 31
OrangeTake any value it likes1
SlateTake any value it likes1
Teal= — Show the same number on every cell2
Pink>4 — Be more than 41

The Medium grid runs to 9 regions and 8 tiles, with all-equal, 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

Medium
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the purple region, where one cell must be exactly 3. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Medium
The 6–3 belongs across row 2, columns 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must add up to exactly 3. The 6 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 5–6: across row 2, columns 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because amber must add up to exactly 5. The 5 half sits in the amber region, which must be exactly 5.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — March 8, 2026

45
33
56
50
60
55
63
00

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

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 cell2
Purple3 — Be exactly 31
Green= — Show the same number on every cell2
Amber5 — Be exactly 51
Orange<2 — Add up to less than 22
Slate<2 — Add up to less than 22
Teal= — Show the same number on every cell4
Pink>5 — Be more than 51
LimeTake any value it likes1

The Hard grid runs to 13 regions and 16 tiles, with less-than, all-equal, greater-than 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.

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

Hint 2

Hard
The 1–5 belongs down column 4, rows 5–6. It is the only tile that works there, because orange must add up to exactly 5. The 1 half sits in the pink region, which must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 3

Hard
There is exactly one home for the 0–0: across row 9, columns 7–8. It is the only tile that works there, because green must add up to exactly 0.

Hint 4

Hard
Lay the 1–6 down column 5, rows 1–2 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must add up to less than 2. The 1 half sits in the blue region, which must be less than 2.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — March 8, 2026

46
13
44
20
16
34
15
03
55
11
56
00
33
24
01
22

blue (<2): 1 | purple (=): 6 · 6 · 6 | green (>2): 5 | amber (=): 4 · 4 · 4 · 4 · 4 | orange (=5): 5 | slate: 2 | teal (=10): 5 · 5 | pink (=): 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 · 1 | lime (<2): 0 | brown (=): 2 · 2 · 2 | blue (=): 3 · 3 · 3 · 3 · 3 | purple (=): 0 · 0 | green (=0): 0 · 0

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue<2 — Be less than 21
Purple= — Show the same number on every cell3
Green>2 — Be more than 21
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell5
Orange5 — Be exactly 51
SlateTake any value it likes1
Teal10 — Add up to exactly 102
Pink= — Show the same number on every cell5
Lime<2 — Be less than 21
Brown= — Show the same number on every cell3
Blue= — Show the same number on every cell5
Purple= — Show the same number on every cell2
Green0 — Add up to exactly 02
All hintsFull answers for this dayJun 28 →