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Pips hints — Wednesday, April 15, 2026

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

Wednesday, April 15, 2026Archived board

Today's Easy board has 6 dominoes across 6 regions, mixing all-equal, less-than 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
Start with the amber region — its one cell must be less than 2. Only 2 pip combinations fit it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Easy
Place the 1–1 domino across row 2, columns 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because amber must add up to less than 2. The 1 half sits in the amber region, which must be less than 2.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — April 15, 2026

11
33
23
00
21
05

blue (=): 1 · 1 | purple (=): 2 · 2 | green (=): 0 · 0 · 0 | amber (<2): 1 | orange (=): 3 · 3 · 3 | slate (>4): 5

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
Purple= — Show the same number on every cell2
Green= — Show the same number on every cell3
Amber<2 — Be less than 21
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell3
Slate>4 — Be more than 41

Today's Medium board has 8 dominoes across 9 regions, mixing less-than, all-equal, target-sum, no-repeats 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

Medium
Start with the orange 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

Medium
Place the 5–3 domino down column 1, rows 2–3. It is the only tile that works there, because orange must add up to exactly 3. The 5 half sits in the green region, which must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 3

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

Medium solution — April 15, 2026

43
40
52
51
53
16
01
32

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
BlueTake any values it likes2
Purple<1 — Add up to less than 12
Green= — Show the same number on every cell2
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell2
Orange3 — Be exactly 31
Slate3 — Be exactly 31
Teal2 — Be exactly 21
Pink — Have no two cells showing the same number4
Lime>5 — Be more than 51

Today's Hard board has 14 dominoes across 11 regions, mixing all-equal, target-sum and less-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.

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 green region — its four cells must add up to exactly 23. Only 4 pip combinations fit it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Hard
Place the 6–6 domino down column 5, rows 2–3. It is the only tile that works there, because green must add up to exactly 23.

Hint 3

Hard
The 5–6 belongs down column 5, rows 4–5. It is the only tile that works there, because green must add up to exactly 23. The 5 half sits in the teal region, which must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 4

Hard
There is exactly one home for the 3–5: across row 1, columns 4–5. It is the only tile that works there, because green must add up to exactly 23. The 3 half sits in the purple region, which must add up to exactly 4.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — April 15, 2026

14
45
22
66
23
55
03
51
44
05
13
56
40
35

blue (=): 4 · 4 · 4 · 4 · 4 | purple (=4): 1 · 3 | green (=23): 5 · 6 · 6 · 6 | amber (<5): 0 | orange: 0 | slate (=): 5 · 5 · 5 | teal (=): 5 · 5 · 5 | pink: 0 | lime (=4): 3 · 1 | brown (=7): 1 · 2 · 2 · 2 | blue (=): 3 · 3

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 cell5
Purple4 — Add up to exactly 42
Green23 — Add up to exactly 234
Amber<5 — Be less than 51
OrangeTake any value it likes1
Slate= — Show the same number on every cell3
Teal= — Show the same number on every cell3
PinkTake any value it likes1
Lime4 — Add up to exactly 42
Brown7 — Add up to exactly 74
Blue= — Show the same number on every cell2
All hintsFull answers for this dayJun 28 →