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Pips hints — Tuesday, August 18, 2026

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

Tuesday, August 18, 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
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the blue region, where one cell must be exactly 1. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Easy
Lay the 1–1 across row 1, columns 1–2 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must add up to exactly 1. The 1 half sits in the blue region, which must be exactly 1.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — August 18, 2026

61
02
11
01
00

blue (=1): 1 | purple (=1): 1 · 0 · 0 | green (=1): 1 | amber (=1): 0 · 0 · 1 | orange (=2): 2 | slate (=6): 6

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue1 — Be exactly 11
Purple1 — Add up to exactly 13
Green1 — Be exactly 11
Amber1 — Add up to exactly 13
Orange2 — Be exactly 21
Slate6 — Be exactly 61

The Medium grid runs to 11 regions and 8 tiles, with target-sum, less-than, 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 blue region, where one cell must be exactly 5. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Medium
Lay the 5–5 down column 4, rows 1–2 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must add up to exactly 5. The 5 half sits in the blue region, which must be exactly 5.

Hint 3

Medium
Place the 6–1 domino across row 3, columns 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because slate must add up to more than 5. The 6 half sits in the slate region, which must be more than 5.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — August 18, 2026

45
11
55
04
36
13
61
14

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue5 — Be exactly 51
PurpleTake any value it likes1
Green<2 — Be less than 21
Amber6 — Add up to exactly 62
Orange6 — Add up to exactly 62
Slate>5 — Be more than 51
Teal= — Show the same number on every cell3
Pink>5 — Be more than 51
Lime= — Show the same number on every cell2
BrownTake any value it likes1
Blue5 — Be exactly 51

The Hard grid runs to 20 regions and 16 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 blue region, where one cell must be exactly 1. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Hard
Lay the 1–4 down column 1, rows 1–2 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must add up to exactly 1. The 1 half sits in the blue region, which must be exactly 1.

Hint 3

Hard
Place the 5–1 domino down column 3, rows 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must add up to exactly 1. The 5 half sits in the orange region, which must add up to exactly 11.

Hint 4

Hard
The 1–1 belongs down column 1, rows 5–6. It is the only tile that works there, because lime must add up to exactly 1. The 1 half sits in the lime region, which must be exactly 1.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — August 18, 2026

61
00
55
06
53
10
26
40
11
05
66
14
30
22
51
20

blue (=1): 1 | purple (=1): 1 | green (=): 0 · 0 | amber (>1): 3 | orange (=11): 4 · 2 · 5 | slate (=11): 4 · 5 · 2 | teal (>1): 2 | pink (>1): 3 | lime (=1): 1 | brown (>11): 6 · 6 | blue (=): 0 · 0 | purple (=1): 1 | green (=1): 1 | amber: 0 | orange (=1): 1 · 0 · 0 | slate (=11): 6 · 5 | teal (>11): 6 · 6 | pink (>1): 2 | lime (=): 5 · 5 | brown: 0

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue1 — Be exactly 11
Purple1 — Be exactly 11
Green= — Show the same number on every cell2
Amber>1 — Be more than 11
Orange11 — Add up to exactly 113
Slate11 — Add up to exactly 113
Teal>1 — Be more than 11
Pink>1 — Be more than 11
Lime1 — Be exactly 11
Brown>11 — Add up to more than 112
Blue= — Show the same number on every cell2
Purple1 — Be exactly 11
Green1 — Be exactly 11
AmberTake any value it likes1
Orange1 — Add up to exactly 13
Slate11 — Add up to exactly 112
Teal>11 — Add up to more than 112
Pink>1 — Be more than 11
Lime= — Show the same number on every cell2
BrownTake any value it likes1
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