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Pips hints — Friday, September 18, 2026

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

Friday, September 18, 2026Archived board

Easy today: 5 dominoes, 6 regions and all-equal 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
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the purple region, where one cell must be exactly 6. Only 1 pip combination fits it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Easy
Lay the 5–6 across row 1, columns 3–4 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because purple must be exactly 6. The 5 half sits in the green region, which must show the same number on every cell.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — September 18, 2026

22
00
56
14
15

blue (=): 2 · 2 | purple (=6): 6 | green (=): 5 · 5 | amber (=0): 0 · 0 | orange (=4): 4 | slate (=): 1 · 1

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 cell2
Purple6 — Be exactly 61
Green= — Show the same number on every cell2
Amber0 — Add up to exactly 02
Orange4 — Be exactly 41
Slate= — Show the same number on every cell2

Medium today: 8 dominoes, 9 regions and target-sum and less-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
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the orange 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

Medium
Lay the 3–4 down column 6, rows 2–3 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because orange must be exactly 3.

Hint 3

Medium
Place the 2–1 domino across row 3, columns 2–3. It is the only tile that works there, because slate must be less than 2. The 2 half sits in the teal region, which must add up to exactly 8.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — September 18, 2026

04
64
34
21
52
45
36
26

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue8 — Add up to exactly 83
PurpleTake any value it likes1
Green8 — Add up to exactly 82
Amber8 — Add up to exactly 82
Orange3 — Be exactly 31
Slate<2 — Be less than 21
Teal8 — Add up to exactly 82
Pink8 — Add up to exactly 82
Lime8 — Add up to exactly 82

Hard today: 13 dominoes, 16 regions and 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
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the amber region, where one cell must be less than 2. Only 2 pip combinations fit it at all, which is why it gives way first.

Hint 2

Hard
Lay the 0–1 down column 5, rows 2–3 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because amber must be less than 2. The 0 half sits in the orange region, which must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 3

Hard
Place the 1–1 domino down column 7, rows 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 4

Hard
The 3–3 belongs down column 4, rows 7–8. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must show the same number on every cell.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — September 18, 2026

06
43
62
50
36
21
03
11
40
31
02
33
01

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

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 less than 41
Green<3 — Be less than 31
Amber<2 — Be less than 21
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell5
Slate<6 — Be less than 61
Teal<5 — Be less than 51
PinkTake any value it likes1
LimeTake any value it likes1
BrownTake any value it likes1
Blue= — Show the same number on every cell4
Purple>10 — Add up to more than 102
Green<3 — Be less than 31
Amber>3 — Be more than 31
Orange>3 — Be more than 31
Slate<2 — Be less than 21
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