Pips hints and answers for Monday, November 2, 2026
Pips is the NYT domino logic game: place every domino from the tray so that each region obeys its rule - a number means the pips in that region add to it, an equals region means every half in it matches, and a not-equal region means no two halves match. Today brings three boards, edited by Ian Livengood: an Easy board by Livengood with 5 dominoes, then Medium and Hard boards by Rodolfo Kurchan with 7 and 16 dominoes. Each board gets its own hint ladder below, then its solved grid behind a tap.
Easy board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Ian Livengood · Tap to show one hint at a time.
Start with the two cells that name themselves: the single at row 1, column 2 must add to exactly 1, and the single at row 1, column 5 must add to exactly 1. Two pairs must match exactly: the pair standing in column 2 (rows 2-3) is an equals region, and the pair across row 3, columns 4-5, is an equals region too. The single at row 3, column 6 must beat 4, the single at row 3, column 1 must stay under 4, and two cells - row 2, column 5, and row 3, column 3 - carry no rule at all.
Both pinned singles are 1s. The equals pair in column 2 is two 4s, and the equals pair in row 3 is two 0s - blanks. The greater-than cell holds a 5 and the less-than cell a 3, so the tray's two biggest halves are spoken for early.
The 1-4 domino stands in column 2, rows 1-2: its 1 fills the pinned single and its 4 opens the equals pair. The 3-4 domino lies across row 3, columns 1-2 - its 3 stays under 4 in the corner and its 4 completes the pair. The 1-3 domino stands in column 5, rows 1-2, its 1 in the second pinned single and its 3 in the free cell below. The 1-0 domino lies across row 3, columns 3-4, its 1 in the free cell and its blank opening the second equals pair, and the 0-5 domino closes the row: its blank completes the pair of 0s and its 5 beats 4 in the last cell.
The Easy solution
The solved Easy board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 1-4 down column 2, rows 1-2 · 1-3 down column 5, rows 1-2 · 3-4 across row 3, columns 1-2 · 1-0 across row 3, columns 3-4 · 0-5 across row 3, columns 5-6
- All equal 4 = 4
- All equal 0 = 0
- Adds to 1 1
- Adds to 1 1
- Greater than 4 5 = 5
- Less than 4 3 = 3
- No rule 2 cells in blank regions, free to take any value
Medium board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Rodolfo Kurchan · Tap to show one hint at a time.
Start with the spine: all three cells of column 6 (rows 1-3) form one equals region, so they must all match. The single at row 1, column 3 must stay under 4, the pair across row 2, columns 1-2, must add to exactly 8, and the 2x2 block at rows 2-3, columns 3-4, must add to less than 11. The pair standing in column 5 (rows 2-3) must add to less than 8, the single at row 3, column 1 must beat 3, and the cell at row 3, column 2 carries no rule.
The equals column is all 4s. The sum-8 pair is 3 plus 5, the less-than-11 block reads 1, 3, 1 and 5 for a total of 10, and the less-than-8 pair in column 5 is 2 plus 5, totaling 7.
The 4-3 domino stands in column 1, rows 2-3: its 3 opens the sum-8 pair in row 2 and its 4 beats 3 in the single below. The 2-5 domino stands in column 2 - its 5 completes the sum of 8 and its 2 fills the free cell in row 3. The 3-1 domino stands in column 3, its 3 under the less-than-4 cap at the top and its 1 opening the 2x2 block. The 2-3 domino lies across row 2, columns 4-5, its 3 in the block and its 2 opening the less-than-8 pair, which the 5-4 domino completes across row 3, columns 5-6: its 5 brings the pair to 7 and its 4 joins the equals column. The 5-1 domino lies across row 3, columns 3-4, and the 4-4 domino stands at the top of column 6, setting the value the whole spine must match.
The Medium solution
The solved Medium board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 3-1 down column 3, rows 1-2 · 4-4 down column 6, rows 1-2 · 4-3 down column 1, rows 2-3 · 2-5 down column 2, rows 2-3 · 2-3 across row 2, columns 4-5 · 5-1 across row 3, columns 3-4 · 5-4 across row 3, columns 5-6
- Less than 4 3 = 3
- All equal 4 = 4 = 4
- Adds to 8 3 + 5
- Less than 11 1 + 3 + 1 + 5 = 10
- Less than 8 2 + 5 = 7
- Greater than 3 4 = 4
- No rule 1 cell in blank regions, free to take any value
Hard board - hints
Hint 0 of 3By Rodolfo Kurchan · Tap to show one hint at a time.
Work the pinned singles first: row 1, column 5 must be exactly 1 and row 1, column 7 exactly 3, while row 2 names three cells outright - column 4 is 3, column 5 is 2 and column 6 is 1 - and row 3, column 5 and row 4, column 5 are pinned at 1 and 2. Around them sit the big regions: a four-cell region (row 2, column 3, row 3, columns 3-4, and row 4, column 4) must add to 16, a four-cell equals region wraps rows 3-5 around columns 2-3, a three-cell unequal region runs down column 6 (rows 3-5), and a second four-cell equals region (row 5, columns 4-5, plus row 6, column 4 and row 7, column 4) anchors the bottom, where one last pair across row 8, columns 4-5, must add to 7.
The sum-16 region reads 4, 4, 3 and 5. The upper equals region is all 4s and the lower equals region is all 0s - blanks. The unequal column reads 1, 6 and 3, the greater-than-5 single at row 2, column 7 is a 6 with a 1 beside it under the less-than-2 cap, and the sum-7 pair at the bottom is 2 plus 5.
The 4-3 domino lies across row 2, columns 3-4: its 4 opens the sum-16 region and its 3 fills the pinned single. The 4-4 domino stands in column 3, rows 3-4, both halves in big regions - the row 3 half in the sum-16 and the row 4 half in the equals. The 3-1 domino lies across row 3, columns 4-5, its 3 completing the sum-16's four cells and its 1 filling the pinned single, and the 0-5 domino stands in column 4, rows 4-5: its 5 is the last cell of the sum-16 and its blank joins the lower equals region. On the left, the 1-4 domino lies across row 3, columns 1-2 - a 1 under the less-than-2 cap and a 4 opening the equals region - the 4-0 domino lies across row 4, columns 1-2 with its blank under the less-than-1 cap, and the 4-5 domino lies across row 5, columns 2-3, its 5 beating the greater-than-4 single and its 4 completing the equals run. The 0-0 domino stands in column 4, rows 6-7, the 0-3 domino lies across row 5, columns 5-6 - blank into the equals, 3 into the unequal column - and the 2-5 domino lies across row 8, columns 4-5, making the final sum of 7.
The Hard solution
The solved Hard board: every cell shows its pip count, then the placements and a check of every region rule.
Placements: 1-2 down column 5, rows 1-2 · 3-2 across row 1, columns 6-7 · 4-3 across row 2, columns 3-4 · 1-1 down column 6, rows 2-3 · 1-6 across row 2, columns 7-8 · 1-4 across row 3, columns 1-2 · 4-4 down column 3, rows 3-4 · 3-1 across row 3, columns 4-5 · 2-0 down column 7, rows 3-4 · 4-0 across row 4, columns 1-2 · 0-5 down column 4, rows 4-5 · 2-6 across row 4, columns 5-6 · 4-5 across row 5, columns 2-3 · 0-3 across row 5, columns 5-6 · 0-0 down column 4, rows 6-7 · 2-5 across row 8, columns 4-5
- Adds to 1 1
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 16 4 + 4 + 3 + 5
- Adds to 3 3
- Adds to 2 2
- Adds to 1 1
- Greater than 5 6 = 6
- Less than 2 1 = 1
- Less than 2 1 = 1
- All equal 4 = 4 = 4 = 4
- Adds to 1 1
- All different 1, 6, 3
- Less than 3 2 + 0 = 2
- Less than 1 0 = 0
- Adds to 2 2
- Greater than 4 5 = 5
- All equal 0 = 0 = 0 = 0
- Adds to 7 2 + 5
- No rule 1 cell in blank regions, free to take any value