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

Pips hints — Sunday, August 16, 2026

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

Sunday, August 16, 2026Archived board

Easy today: 5 dominoes, 6 regions and target-sum constraints. 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 purple 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
The 5–2 belongs across row 2, columns 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must add up to exactly 2. The 5 half sits in the green region, which must add up to exactly 10.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — August 16, 2026

64
45
06
52
33

blue (=6): 3 · 3 | purple (=2): 2 | green (=10): 5 · 5 | amber (=8): 4 · 4 | orange (=12): 6 · 6 | slate: 0

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue6 — Add up to exactly 62
Purple2 — Be exactly 21
Green10 — Add up to exactly 102
Amber8 — Add up to exactly 82
Orange12 — Add up to exactly 122
SlateTake any value it likes1

Medium today: 8 dominoes, 7 regions and all-equal, target-sum, less-than and greater-than constraints. 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 teal 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

Medium
The 3–3 belongs across row 3, columns 5–6. It is the only tile that works there, because teal must add up to exactly 3. The 3 half sits in the slate region, which must add up to exactly 7.

Hint 3

Medium
There is exactly one home for the 2–0: across row 2, columns 4–5. It is the only tile that works there, because amber must add up to less than 3. The 2 half sits in the amber region, which must be less than 3.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — August 16, 2026

50
04
55
51
20
43
33
30

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

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 cell4
Purple7 — Add up to exactly 73
Green= — Show the same number on every cell4
Amber<3 — Be less than 31
Orange>3 — Be more than 31
Slate7 — Add up to exactly 72
Teal3 — Be exactly 31

Hard today: 13 dominoes, 18 regions and target-sum, all-equal, less-than and greater-than constraints. 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 brown region first. Across one cell it has to be exactly 5. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

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

Hint 3

Hard
There is exactly one home for the 3–3: down column 1, rows 4–5. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must add up to exactly 3. The 3 half sits in the purple region, which must be exactly 3.

Hint 4

Hard
Lay the 1–1 across row 3, columns 1–2 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because orange must add up to exactly 2.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — August 16, 2026

02
04
05
11
12
14
15
26
33
34
44
55
56

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue9 — Add up to exactly 92
Purple= — Show the same number on every cell2
Green<3 — Be less than 31
Amber<4 — Be less than 41
Orange2 — Add up to exactly 22
Slate<5 — Be less than 51
Teal<2 — Add up to less than 22
Pink>4 — Be more than 41
Lime9 — Add up to exactly 93
Brown5 — Be exactly 51
Blue>3 — Be more than 31
Purple3 — Be exactly 31
Green5 — Add up to exactly 52
Amber>1 — Be more than 11
Orange3 — Be exactly 31
Slate9 — Add up to exactly 92
Teal1 — Be exactly 11
PinkTake any value it likes1
← Aug 15 All hintsFull answers for this dayAug 17 →