NYT Pips HelperWednesday, October 14, 2026

Pips hints — Tuesday, October 13, 2026

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

Tuesday, October 13, 2026Archived board

The Easy grid runs to 6 regions and 5 tiles, with target-sum 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

Easy
Ignore the open areas for now and go straight to the blue 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
There is exactly one home for the 6–6: across row 1, columns 3–4. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must be exactly 6.
Reveal the full Easy answer

Easy solution — October 13, 2026

66
61
36
13
60

blue (=6): 6 | purple (=6): 6 · 0 | green (=6): 6 | amber (=6): 3 · 3 | orange (=): 6 · 6 | slate (=2): 1 · 1

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue6 — Be exactly 61
Purple6 — Add up to exactly 62
Green6 — Be exactly 61
Amber6 — Add up to exactly 62
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell2
Slate2 — Add up to exactly 22

The Medium grid runs to 8 regions and 7 tiles, with greater-than, target-sum and less-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.

Hint 1 — where to start

Medium
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

Medium
There is exactly one home for the 0–1: across row 2, columns 4–5. It is the only tile that works there, because green must add up to exactly 3. The 0 half sits in the teal region, which must add up to less than 4.

Hint 3

Medium
Lay the 4–2 across row 1, columns 5–6 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because green must add up to exactly 3. The 4 half sits in the amber region, which must add up to more than 3.
Reveal the full Medium answer

Medium solution — October 13, 2026

01
00
15
43
42
35
02

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue>3 — Be more than 31
Purple3 — Be exactly 31
Green3 — Add up to exactly 32
Amber>3 — Add up to more than 32
Orange<2 — Add up to less than 23
Slate>8 — Add up to more than 82
Teal<4 — Add up to less than 42
Pink2 — Be exactly 21

The Hard grid runs to 15 regions and 12 tiles, with target-sum, less-than, all-equal, no-repeats 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 4. 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 4–1: across row 1, columns 1–2. It is the only tile that works there, because blue must be exactly 4.

Hint 3

Hard
Lay the 3–3 down column 1, rows 2–3 — no guesswork needed. It is the only tile that works there, because slate must show the same number on every cell.

Hint 4

Hard
Try the 4–3 domino down column 6, rows 3–4. Only 2 tiles can go there at all, so test them and the wrong ones break a neighbouring region straight away. The 4 half sits in the pink region, which must be exactly 4.
Reveal the full Hard answer

Hard solution — October 13, 2026

43
25
61
06
31
22
26
35
46
33
24
41

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

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

What each region asks for

RegionRuleCells
Blue4 — Be exactly 41
Purple<2 — Be less than 21
GreenTake any value it likes1
Amber1 — Be exactly 11
Orange= — Show the same number on every cell2
Slate= — Show the same number on every cell3
Teal7 — Add up to exactly 72
Pink4 — Be exactly 41
Lime≠ — Have no two cells showing the same number3
Brown>2 — Be more than 21
Blue<3 — Be less than 31
Purple8 — Add up to exactly 82
Green10 — Add up to exactly 102
Amber<5 — Be less than 51
Orange4 — Add up to exactly 42
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