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Pips hints — Saturday, April 18, 2026

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

Saturday, April 18, 2026Archived board

Today's Easy board has 5 dominoes across 5 regions, mixing target-sum 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.

Hint 1 — where to start

Easy
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the blue region, where two cells must add up to exactly 11. Only 2 pip combinations fit it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Easy
Lay the 3–6 down column 1, rows 1–2 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must add up to exactly 11. The 3 half sits in the green region, which must take any value it likes.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — April 18, 2026

02
30
36
55
23

blue (=11): 6 · 5 | purple (=9): 5 · 2 · 2 | green: 3 | amber (=): 3 · 3 | orange (=): 0 · 0

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue11 — Add up to exactly 112
Purple9 — Add up to exactly 93
GreenTake any value it likes1
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell2
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell2

Today's Medium board has 7 dominoes across 8 regions, mixing less-than 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
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the pink region, where two cells must add up to exactly 12. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Medium
Lay the 6–4 across row 4, columns 1–2 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because pink must add up to exactly 12.

Hint 3

Medium
Place the 2–6 domino across row 4, columns 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because pink must add up to exactly 12. The 2 half sits in the slate region, which must add up to exactly 6.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — April 18, 2026

64
00
42
22
60
34
26

blue (<7): 0 · 0 | purple (<3): 2 | green (=6): 6 · 0 | amber (=8): 4 · 4 | orange (=4): 2 · 2 | slate (=6): 4 · 2 | teal: 3 | pink (=12): 6 · 6

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue<7 — Add up to less than 72
Purple<3 — Be less than 31
Green6 — Add up to exactly 62
Amber8 — Add up to exactly 82
Orange4 — Add up to exactly 42
Slate6 — Add up to exactly 62
TealTake any value it likes1
Pink12 — Add up to exactly 122

Today's Hard board has 14 dominoes across 15 regions, mixing target-sum, all-equal, greater-than 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
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

Hard
Lay the 3–0 across row 1, columns 3–4 — no guesswork needed. 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.

Hint 3

Hard
Place the 4–0 domino down column 5, rows 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must add up to exactly 0. The 4 half sits in the amber region, which must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 4

Hard
The 0–0 belongs down column 5, rows 5–6. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must add up to exactly 0.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — April 18, 2026

42
53
61
00
52
10
55
21
45
63
40
11
30
44

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue3 — Be exactly 31
Purple0 — Add up to exactly 02
Green= — Show the same number on every cell4
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell2
Orange>0 — Be more than 01
Slate0 — Be exactly 01
TealTake any value it likes1
Pink3 — Be exactly 31
LimeTake any value it likes1
Brown= — Show the same number on every cell2
Blue<5 — Add up to less than 54
Purple0 — Add up to exactly 02
Green8 — Add up to exactly 82
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell2
Orange8 — Add up to exactly 82
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