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

Pips hints — Tuesday, July 21, 2026

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

Tuesday, July 21, 2026Archived board

Today's Easy board has 5 dominoes across 6 regions, mixing target-sum, all-equal 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.

Hint 1 — where to start

Easy
Look at the slate region first. Across one cell it has to be exactly 2. 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 2–5: down column 4, rows 2–3. It is the only tile that works there, because slate must add up to exactly 2. The 2 half sits in the slate region, which must be exactly 2.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — July 21, 2026

13
64
53
22
25

blue (=10): 2 · 2 · 6 | purple: 4 | green (=): 3 · 3 | amber (=10): 5 · 5 | orange (<2): 1 | slate (=2): 2

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue10 — Add up to exactly 103
PurpleTake any value it likes1
Green= — Show the same number on every cell2
Amber10 — Add up to exactly 102
Orange<2 — Be less than 21
Slate2 — Be exactly 21

Today's Medium board has 8 dominoes across 8 regions, mixing target-sum, all-equal 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.

Hint 1 — where to start

Medium
Look at the green region first. Across one cell it has to be exactly 2. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Medium
There is exactly one home for the 2–4: across row 2, columns 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because green must add up to exactly 2. The 2 half sits in the green region, which must be exactly 2.

Hint 3

Medium
Lay the 2–3 across row 3, columns 4–5 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because teal must add up to exactly 3. The 2 half sits in the orange region, which must show the same number on every cell.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — July 21, 2026

56
25
23
22
10
24
00
64

blue (=8): 4 · 4 | purple (=): 6 · 6 | green (=2): 2 | amber (=): 5 · 5 | orange (=): 2 · 2 · 2 · 2 | slate (=): 0 · 0 · 0 | teal (=3): 3 | pink (<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 82
Purple= — Show the same number on every cell2
Green2 — Be exactly 21
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell2
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell4
Slate= — Show the same number on every cell3
Teal3 — Be exactly 31
Pink<2 — Be less than 21

Today's Hard board has 16 dominoes across 27 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.

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

Hint 3

Hard
Lay the 3–5 across row 8, columns 3–4 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because teal must add up to exactly 5. The 3 half sits in the amber region, which must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 4

Hard
Place the 4–5 domino across row 1, columns 2–3. 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 Hard answer

Hard solution — July 21, 2026

01
02
03
04
05
12
13
14
15
23
24
25
34
35
45
36

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue3 — Be exactly 31
Purple4 — Be exactly 41
Green5 — Be exactly 51
Amber2 — Be exactly 21
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell2
Slate= — Show the same number on every cell2
Teal0 — Be exactly 01
Pink1 — Be exactly 11
Lime0 — Be exactly 01
Brown1 — Be exactly 11
Blue2 — Be exactly 21
Purple= — Show the same number on every cell2
Green1 — Be exactly 11
Amber0 — Be exactly 01
Orange4 — Be exactly 41
Slate1 — Be exactly 11
Teal4 — Be exactly 41
Pink2 — Be exactly 21
Lime1 — Be exactly 11
BrownTake any value it likes1
Blue0 — Be exactly 01
Purple5 — Be exactly 51
Green5 — Be exactly 51
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell3
Orange5 — Be exactly 51
Slate0 — Be exactly 01
Teal5 — Be exactly 51
← Jul 20 All hintsFull answers for this dayJul 22 →