NYT Pips HelperMonday, September 14, 2026
Today's hintHint archiveAll answers

Pips hints — Sunday, September 13, 2026

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

Sunday, September 13, 2026Archived board

Today's Easy board has 5 dominoes across 6 regions, mixing target-sum and all-equal 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
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the purple region, where one cell must be exactly 3. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Easy
There is exactly one home for the 3–3: across row 1, columns 5–6. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must be exactly 3. The 3 half sits in the blue region, which must add up to exactly 8.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — September 13, 2026

13
33
05
41
42

blue (=8): 3 · 5 | purple (=3): 3 | green (=2): 0 · 2 | amber (=8): 4 · 4 | orange (=): 1 · 1 | slate (=3): 3

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue8 — Add up to exactly 82
Purple3 — Be exactly 31
Green2 — Add up to exactly 22
Amber8 — Add up to exactly 82
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell2
Slate3 — Be exactly 31

Today's Medium board has 7 dominoes across 9 regions, mixing greater-than, less-than, all-equal and 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

Medium
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the slate region, where two cells must add up to more than 10. Only 3 pip combinations fit it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Medium
There is exactly one home for the 2–6: across row 3, columns 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because slate must add up to more than 10. The 2 half sits in the orange region, which must be less than 4.

Hint 3

Medium
Lay the 3–4 down column 3, rows 2–3 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because teal must add up to exactly 10. The 3 half sits in the purple region, which must be less than 4.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — September 13, 2026

23
26
34
46
55
56
66

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue>2 — Be more than 21
Purple<4 — Be less than 41
Green= — Show the same number on every cell3
AmberTake any value it likes1
Orange<4 — Be less than 41
Slate>10 — Add up to more than 102
Teal10 — Add up to exactly 102
Pink10 — Add up to exactly 102
LimeTake any value it likes1

Today's Hard board has 16 dominoes across 13 regions, mixing target-sum and all-equal 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
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the slate 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

Hard
There is exactly one home for the 5–0: across row 5, columns 6–7. It is the only tile that works there, because slate must be exactly 5.

Hint 3

Hard
Lay the 1–3 down column 9, rows 5–6 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because teal must be exactly 1.

Hint 4

Hard
Place the 3–5 domino across row 10, columns 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must be exactly 3.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — September 13, 2026

35
04
66
55
13
60
54
61
25
44
65
11
46
50
63
00

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue3 — Add up to exactly 34
PurpleTake any value it likes1
Green= — Show the same number on every cell3
Amber= — Show the same number on every cell4
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell6
Slate5 — Be exactly 51
Teal1 — Be exactly 11
Pink= — Show the same number on every cell2
Lime= — Show the same number on every cell4
Brown= — Show the same number on every cell2
Blue= — Show the same number on every cell2
Purple3 — Be exactly 31
Green2 — Be exactly 21
← Sep 12 All hintsFull answers for this day Sep 14 →