Need some help with the NYT Pips today? Unlike the other NYT Games, Pips is one of the few that focuses on numbers and logical placement. No worries, though; we've got you covered.
Below, we've compiled hints and solutions for the Easy and Medium puzzles, along with a comprehensive guide for the Hard Pips. You can play along here.
Spoilers below for the July 26 Pips. Only read if you want the solutions for today's Pips puzzles.
Alternatively, for more word-based puzzling, check out our guides for tips and solutions to Connections, Strands and Wordle.
Pips tips — how to play Pips
Pips is a domino placement game featuring a grid of multicolored boxes that gets more complicated and larger as you go up in difficulty. Each colored zone represents a condition you have to meet.
You select dominoes and place dominoes into the grid to meet those conditions. You must use every domino to achieve each condition and win the game. Clicking or tapping on the dominoes rotates them so you can position the tiles.
In the above example from a medium puzzle, there are four colored zones. Your placed dominoes must total 12 in the purple zone. In the teal and orange sectors, the number of domino pips must be greater than 3.
In the hard mode, the zones and symbols get more complicated. For example, you could see a crossed-out equal sign, meaning that the three squares you place must be different numbers.
Here are the various symbols you might see:
- = All pips must be the same in this group
- ≠ All pips must not be the same number in this group
- > The pips in the tile must be greater than the listed number
- < The pips in this tile must be less than the listed number
- A number [like 12], the pips must equal that exact number
- Tiles with no color can be anything; think of this as a free space
To win a game of Pips, you must fulfill every condition and fill every square. In some puzzles, there is only one correct solution. In others, usually the harder ones, there can be multiple solutions.
Today's Pips answers — hints to help you solve it
Below are the solutions for the Easy and Medium-level Pips. After that, you can find a fuller walkthrough for the Hard level. Spoilers below.
Today's Easy Pips solution
Today's Medium Pips solution
Today's Hard Pips walkthrough and solution
Today's Hard Pips puzzle looks like a camel.
I started looking at the hump, and its purple 2, which can only take the 2/4 or 2/6. Both the four and six could fit that big six-square = pink line, but because of the 0/4 and the olive 6 I thought they wouldn't fit there. Instead, the 1s, of which there are exactly six
So, I rolled the dice on the 6/2, which means the 4/1 goes above that tile. Then 1/0 drops down into the olive 0. Next door, I put the 4/1 going into the purple = zone in the head. Then the 1/1 caps the pink line. With the 4/1 in place, the 4/4 has to cap the purple = set there.
With that solved, the 4/0 has to go in the teal 7 and orange 0 square by the tail.
From there, I skipped down to the olive 6. Because of the 6 double, I thought either the 6/4, 6/5 or 6/3 could go here. So I jumped over to the front legs and the pink = quartet, where I put the 6/6 in the bottom two squares.
This part took some trial and error, but eventually, I landed on 6/5 going into the purple 7. Then only the 4/2 can cap the purple 7, which means the 6/4 fills the last pink = square in the front legs. Thus, 4/3 caps the orange = trio and teal 7.
With that settled, 6/3 goes in the olive 6. Then 3/3 in the bottom of the teal = square. Then 5/3 caps that zone with the 5/5 filling the last two squares of the blue = set.
Here's what that looks like in visual form:
Hard Pips solution
