Interactive
Today’s Easy board
Press Solve to watch the backtracking search accept and reject placements until every region rule holds.
| Region | Rule | Cells |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | 9 — Add up to exactly 9 | 2 |
| Purple | 9 — Add up to exactly 9 | 3 |
| Green | <2 — Be less than 2 | 1 |
| Amber | <2 — Be less than 2 | 1 |
| Orange | 9 — Add up to exactly 9 | 2 |
| Slate | Take any value it likes | 1 |
How it works
It reads the board the way you do
Map the regions
Each coloured region carries a rule: a target sum, “all equal”, “not equal”, greater- or less-than.
Place the most constrained cell first
The search always fills the cell with the fewest options left — the same habit that makes a human fast at this puzzle.
Reject early
The moment a partial sum overshoots its target or a region repeats a value, that branch is abandoned. No dead end is explored for long.
Explain, don’t just answer
You get the finished board and the reasoning — so next time you can spot the move yourself.
What is the Pips Solver?
The Pips Solver is a free tool that finishes a The New York Times Pips board for you. It places every domino using a backtracking search — trying a tile, checking the affected region, and undoing it the moment a rule breaks — until the whole board is valid.
How to use it
Today’s board loads automatically. Press Solve and, instead of dumping the answer, the solver shows the finished board and the reasoning for each placement, so you can learn the pattern rather than just copy it. Prefer a lighter touch? Use today’s hints for a single nudge.
A quick tip
The solver is fastest when the most constrained regions are filled first — the same trick that helps humans. If a board looks impossible, it usually hinges on one cell shared by two rules; solve that and the rest follows.