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

Pips hints — Thursday, August 6, 2026

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

Thursday, August 6, 2026Archived board

The Easy grid runs to 6 regions and 5 tiles, with target-sum 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
Look at the slate region first. Across one cell it has to be exactly 4. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Easy
Lay the 4–4 down column 1, rows 3–4 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because slate must add up to exactly 4. The 4 half sits in the amber region, which must add up to exactly 9.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — August 6, 2026

11
33
44
55
66

blue (=7): 1 · 6 | purple (=4): 1 · 3 | green (=9): 6 · 3 | amber (=9): 4 · 5 | orange: 5 | slate (=4): 4

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue7 — Add up to exactly 72
Purple4 — Add up to exactly 42
Green9 — Add up to exactly 92
Amber9 — Add up to exactly 92
OrangeTake any value it likes1
Slate4 — Be exactly 41

The Medium grid runs to 8 regions and 7 tiles, with all-equal, greater-than, less-than and target-sum 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
Look at the slate region first. Across one cell it has to be less than 1. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Medium
Lay the 0–2 across row 3, columns 1–2 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because slate must add up to less than 1. The 0 half sits in the slate region, which must be less than 1.

Hint 3

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

Medium solution — August 6, 2026

42
02
44
13
62
41
54

blue (=): 2 · 2 · 2 | purple (>4): 6 | green (=): 1 · 1 | amber (=): 4 · 4 | orange: 3 | slate (<1): 0 | teal (=12): 4 · 4 · 4 | pink (>3): 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 cell3
Purple>4 — Be more than 41
Green= — Show the same number on every cell2
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell2
OrangeTake any value it likes1
Slate<1 — Be less than 11
Teal12 — Add up to exactly 123
Pink>3 — Be more than 31

The Hard grid runs to 15 regions and 14 tiles, with target-sum, less-than, 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
Look at the amber region first. Across one cell it has to be less than 1. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Hard
Lay the 2–0 down column 2, rows 2–3 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because amber must add up to less than 1. The 2 half sits in the slate region, which must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 3

Hard
Place the 6–0 domino down column 1, rows 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because green must add up to exactly 10.

Hint 4

Hard
The 5–2 belongs down column 4, rows 2–3. It is the only tile that works there, because orange must show the same number on every cell.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — August 6, 2026

20
05
11
55
13
44
00
12
04
52
60
34
01
22

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
BlueTake any value it likes1
PurpleTake any value it likes1
Green10 — Add up to exactly 102
Amber<1 — Be less than 11
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell2
Slate= — Show the same number on every cell5
Teal= — Show the same number on every cell3
Pink<2 — Be less than 21
Lime>7 — Add up to more than 72
Brown= — Show the same number on every cell2
Blue>4 — Be more than 41
Purple= — Show the same number on every cell3
Green4 — Add up to exactly 42
Amber<4 — Be less than 41
OrangeTake any value it likes1
← Aug 5 All hintsFull answers for this dayAug 7 →