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

Pips hints — Sunday, April 12, 2026

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

Sunday, April 12, 2026Archived board

Today's Easy board has 6 dominoes across 7 regions, mixing target-sum, all-equal and greater-than rules. 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
Your way in today is the purple region: one cell that must be exactly 4. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

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

Easy solution — April 12, 2026

24
14
45
66
50
22

blue (=22): 6 · 6 · 5 · 5 | purple (=4): 4 | green: 0 | amber (=4): 2 · 2 | orange (=): 4 · 4 | slate (>1): 2 | teal: 1

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue22 — Add up to exactly 224
Purple4 — Be exactly 41
GreenTake any value it likes1
Amber4 — Add up to exactly 42
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell2
Slate>1 — Be more than 11
TealTake any value it likes1

Today's Medium board has 8 dominoes across 10 regions, mixing less-than, greater-than, all-equal and target-sum rules. 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
Your way in today is the purple region: one cell that must be more than 5. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Medium
The 6–4 belongs across row 2, columns 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must add up to more than 5. The 6 half sits in the purple region, which must be more than 5.

Hint 3

Medium
There is exactly one home for the 1–3: down column 4, rows 4–5. It is the only tile that works there, because lime must add up to exactly 1.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — April 12, 2026

13
45
64
42
25
55
66
50

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue<3 — Be less than 31
Purple>5 — Be more than 51
Green= — Show the same number on every cell2
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell2
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell3
SlateTake any value it likes1
Teal10 — Add up to exactly 102
Pink<3 — Be less than 31
Lime1 — Add up to exactly 12
BrownTake any value it likes1

Today's Hard board has 12 dominoes across 12 regions, mixing target-sum, less-than and all-equal rules. 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
Your way in today is the orange region: one cell that must be exactly 0. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Hard
The 2–0 belongs down column 1, rows 2–3. It is the only tile that works there, because orange must add up to exactly 0. The 2 half sits in the blue region, which must add up to exactly 6.

Hint 3

Hard
There is exactly one home for the 0–5: down column 5, rows 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because pink must add up to exactly 0.

Hint 4

Hard
Lay the 1–0 down column 5, rows 5–6 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because pink must add up to exactly 0. The 1 half sits in the blue region, which must add up to exactly 6.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — April 12, 2026

33
60
44
05
22
30
21
46
10
24
65
20

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue6 — Add up to exactly 63
Purple0 — Add up to exactly 02
Green<6 — Add up to less than 62
Amber6 — Add up to exactly 62
Orange0 — Be exactly 01
SlateTake any value it likes1
TealTake any value it likes1
Pink0 — Add up to exactly 02
Lime= — Show the same number on every cell4
Brown6 — Add up to exactly 62
Blue6 — Add up to exactly 62
Purple= — Show the same number on every cell2
All hintsFull answers for this dayJun 28 →