NYT Pips HelperWednesday, August 26, 2026
Hints, answers & a solver for the New York Times Pips puzzle
Today's hintHint archiveAll answers

Pips hints — Wednesday, April 1, 2026

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

Wednesday, April 1, 2026Archived board

The Easy grid runs to 8 regions and 10 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
Look at the blue region first. Across one cell it has to be exactly 4. 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 4–1: across row 1, columns 1–2. 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.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — April 1, 2026

41
00
03
06
22
23
33
45
55
66

blue (=4): 4 | purple (=1): 1 | green (=18): 6 · 6 · 6 | amber (=): 0 · 0 · 0 · 0 | orange: 4 | slate (=15): 5 · 5 · 5 | teal (=12): 3 · 3 · 3 · 3 | pink (=): 2 · 2 · 2

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue4 — Be exactly 41
Purple1 — Be exactly 11
Green18 — Add up to exactly 183
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell4
OrangeTake any value it likes1
Slate15 — Add up to exactly 153
Teal12 — Add up to exactly 124
Pink= — Show the same number on every cell3

The Medium grid runs to 8 regions and 10 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
Look at the amber region first. Across two cells it has to add up to exactly 7. Only 6 pip combinations fit it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Medium
There is exactly one home for the 3–2: down column 6, rows 2–3. It is the only tile that works there, because amber must add up to exactly 7.

Hint 3

Medium
Lay the 4–3 down column 6, rows 4–5 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because amber must add up to exactly 7.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — April 1, 2026

22
36
54
32
61
55
66
10
62
43

blue (=2): 1 · 1 · 0 | purple (=): 6 · 6 | green (=): 2 · 2 · 2 · 2 | amber (=7): 3 · 4 | orange: 4 | slate (=): 5 · 5 · 5 | teal (=): 3 · 3 | pink (=): 6 · 6 · 6

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue2 — Add up to exactly 23
Purple= — Show the same number on every cell2
Green= — Show the same number on every cell4
Amber7 — Add up to exactly 72
OrangeTake any value it likes1
Slate= — Show the same number on every cell3
Teal= — Show the same number on every cell2
Pink= — Show the same number on every cell3

The Hard grid runs to 12 regions and 10 tiles, with target-sum, greater-than, less-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.

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
Look at the pink region first. Across one cell it has to be exactly 3. 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 4–0: across row 6, columns 2–3. It is the only tile that works there, because brown must add up to more than 3. The 4 half sits in the brown region, which must be more than 3.

Hint 3

Hard
Lay the 6–4 down column 1, rows 3–4 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because slate must add up to exactly 7. The 6 half sits in the blue region, which must add up to exactly 8.

Hint 4

Hard
Place the 3–0 domino down column 1, rows 5–6. It is the only tile that works there, because slate must add up to exactly 7.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — April 1, 2026

15
33
40
31
64
00
41
30
24
11

blue (=8): 1 · 1 · 6 | purple (>2): 3 | green (<6): 3 · 2 | amber (>8): 4 · 5 | orange (=): 1 · 1 | slate (=7): 4 · 3 | teal (>3): 4 | pink (=3): 3 | lime (=): 0 · 0 | brown (>3): 4 | blue (=): 0 · 0 | purple (<2): 1

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue8 — Add up to exactly 83
Purple>2 — Be more than 21
Green<6 — Add up to less than 62
Amber>8 — Add up to more than 82
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell2
Slate7 — Add up to exactly 72
Teal>3 — Be more than 31
Pink3 — Be exactly 31
Lime= — Show the same number on every cell2
Brown>3 — Be more than 31
Blue= — Show the same number on every cell2
Purple<2 — Be less than 21
All hintsFull answers for this dayJun 28 →