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

Pips hints — Friday, August 14, 2026

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

Friday, August 14, 2026Archived board

Today's Easy board has 5 dominoes across 6 regions, mixing 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

Easy
The purple region is the anchor: one cell, and it must be exactly 6. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

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

Easy solution — August 14, 2026

33
22
12
65
26

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue6 — Add up to exactly 63
Purple6 — Be exactly 61
Green6 — Add up to exactly 62
Amber6 — Be exactly 61
Orange6 — Add up to exactly 62
Slate2 — Be exactly 21

Today's Medium board has 7 dominoes across 8 regions, mixing target-sum, all-equal 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
The purple region is the anchor: two cells, and they must add up to exactly 9. Only 4 pip combinations fit it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Medium
Lay the 3–5 across row 2, columns 3–4 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must add up to exactly 9. The 3 half sits in the green region, which must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 3

Medium
Place the 3–4 domino across row 3, columns 2–3. It is the only tile that works there, because amber must add up to exactly 9. The 3 half sits in the green region, which must show the same number on every cell.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — August 14, 2026

04
13
26
34
35
36
56

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
BlueTake any value it likes1
Purple9 — Add up to exactly 92
Green= — Show the same number on every cell4
Amber9 — Add up to exactly 92
OrangeTake any value it likes1
Slate>0 — Be more than 01
Teal3 — Add up to exactly 32
PinkTake any value it likes1

Today's Hard board has 16 dominoes across 16 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
The green region is the anchor: one cell, and it must be exactly 1. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Hard
Lay the 1–3 down column 5, rows 2–3 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because green must add up to exactly 1. The 1 half sits in the green region, which must be exactly 1.

Hint 3

Hard
Place the 5–3 domino across row 7, columns 5–6. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must add up to exactly 3. The 5 half sits in the purple region, which must add up to exactly 7.

Hint 4

Hard
The 0–4 belongs down column 5, rows 8–9. 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 14, 2026

23
11
46
51
22
50
62
03
66
04
53
24
13
25
36
54

blue (=): 2 · 2 · 2 | purple (=16): 5 · 6 · 5 | green (=1): 1 | amber (<3): 1 · 1 · 0 | orange: 2 | slate (=7): 3 · 4 | teal (=6): 1 · 2 · 3 | pink (=8): 5 · 3 | lime (=11): 6 · 5 | brown (=15): 6 · 6 · 3 | blue (=3): 3 | purple (=7): 5 · 2 | green (=0): 0 | amber (=10): 4 · 6 | orange: 0 | slate (=8): 4 · 4

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
Purple16 — Add up to exactly 163
Green1 — Be exactly 11
Amber<3 — Add up to less than 33
OrangeTake any value it likes1
Slate7 — Add up to exactly 72
Teal6 — Add up to exactly 63
Pink8 — Add up to exactly 82
Lime11 — Add up to exactly 112
Brown15 — Add up to exactly 153
Blue3 — Be exactly 31
Purple7 — Add up to exactly 72
Green0 — Be exactly 01
Amber10 — Add up to exactly 102
OrangeTake any value it likes1
Slate8 — Add up to exactly 82
← Aug 13 All hintsFull answers for this dayAug 15 →