NYT Pips HelperWednesday, August 26, 2026
Hints, answers & a solver for the New York Times Pips puzzle

Pips hints — Monday, August 3, 2026

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

Monday, August 3, 2026Archived board

The Easy grid runs to 6 regions and 5 tiles, with all-equal, target-sum, less-than and greater-than 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
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the slate region, where 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 5–0 domino across row 4, columns 2–3. It is the only tile that works there, because slate must add up to less than 2. The 5 half sits in the orange region, which must add up to exactly 10.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — August 3, 2026

56
50
44
64
52

blue (=): 4 · 4 · 4 | purple (=11): 5 · 6 | green (<3): 2 | amber (>3): 6 | orange (=10): 5 · 5 | slate (<2): 0

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 cell3
Purple11 — Add up to exactly 112
Green<3 — Be less than 31
Amber>3 — Be more than 31
Orange10 — Add up to exactly 102
Slate<2 — Be less than 21

The Medium grid runs to 8 regions and 7 tiles, with target-sum, greater-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.

Hint 1 — where to start

Medium
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the green region, where two cells must add up to exactly 8. Only 5 pip combinations fit it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Medium
Place the 3–2 domino down column 3, rows 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because green must add up to exactly 8. The 3 half sits in the amber region, which must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 3

Medium
The 3–6 belongs down column 4, rows 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because green must add up to exactly 8. The 3 half sits in the amber region, which must show the same number on every cell.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — August 3, 2026

53
02
32
41
05
36
55

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue5 — Add up to exactly 52
Purple>8 — Add up to more than 82
Green8 — Add up to exactly 82
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell2
OrangeTake any value it likes1
SlateTake any value it likes1
Teal7 — Add up to exactly 72
Pink8 — Add up to exactly 82

The Hard grid runs to 16 regions and 15 tiles, with target-sum, all-equal and greater-than 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
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the pink region, where one cell must be exactly 0. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Hard
Place the 0–1 domino down column 5, rows 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because pink must add up to exactly 0. The 0 half sits in the pink region, which must be exactly 0.

Hint 3

Hard
The 5–6 belongs across row 4, columns 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because lime must add up to exactly 5. The 5 half sits in the lime region, which must be exactly 5.

Hint 4

Hard
There is exactly one home for the 0–6: down column 5, rows 6–7. It is the only tile that works there, because green must add up to exactly 0. The 0 half sits in the green region, which must be exactly 0.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — August 3, 2026

01
02
05
06
11
13
14
16
23
25
33
44
45
56
66

blue (=4): 2 · 2 | purple (=1): 0 · 0 · 1 | green (=10): 5 · 5 | amber (=6): 4 · 2 | orange (=): 3 · 3 · 3 | slate (=9): 5 · 4 | teal (=12): 6 · 6 | pink (=0): 0 | lime (=5): 5 | brown (=3): 1 · 1 · 1 | blue (=7): 4 · 3 | purple (>10): 6 · 6 | green (=0): 0 | amber (=1): 1 | orange (=1): 1 | slate (=10): 4 · 6

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue4 — Add up to exactly 42
Purple1 — Add up to exactly 13
Green10 — Add up to exactly 102
Amber6 — Add up to exactly 62
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell3
Slate9 — Add up to exactly 92
Teal12 — Add up to exactly 122
Pink0 — Be exactly 01
Lime5 — Be exactly 51
Brown3 — Add up to exactly 33
Blue7 — Add up to exactly 72
Purple>10 — Add up to more than 102
Green0 — Be exactly 01
Amber1 — Be exactly 11
Orange1 — Be exactly 11
Slate10 — Add up to exactly 102
← Aug 2 All hintsFull answers for this dayAug 4 →