Pips is the newest game in the New York Times collection, released in August 2025. This innovative game provides a unique spin on dominoes, delivering an enjoyable single-player adventure that could easily become part of your daily gaming habits.

At present, if you find yourself at a loss, the game simply unveils the complete puzzle, necessitating a jump to the next difficulty tier and a fresh start. But fret not, we have your back! Below are clues that will assist you in maneuvering through each difficulty tier.

How to play Pips

If you are familiar with dominoes, you will possess a fundamental grasp of how Pips operates. Similar to dominoes, tiles are aligned either vertically or horizontally and connect with one another. The main distinction lies in the color-coded requirements you have to fulfill. The adjacent tiles do not always need to match.

The requirements you must satisfy are specific to the color-coded areas. For example, if a space indicates a single number, all sides of a tile in that space must sum up to the indicated number. It’s not unusual for only half a tile to be within a color-coded area.

Here are standard instances you will come across in varying difficulty levels:

– Number: All the pips in this area must total the specified number.
– Equal: Each domino half in this area must contain an identical number of pips.
– Not Equal: Each domino half in this area must possess a completely different number of pips.
– Less than: Each domino half in this area must sum to less than the specified number.
– Greater than: Each domino half in this area must sum to more than the specified number.

If an area is devoid of color coding, it signifies that there are no stipulations on the portions of the dominoes found in those areas.

Easy difficulty hints, solutions for Sept. 13 Pips

– Equal (5): Everything in this area must equal 5. The solution is 5-5, oriented vertically.
– Number (6): Everything in this area must total 6. The solution is 2-2, arranged horizontally; 0-2, positioned vertically; 2-3, laid out horizontally.
– Less than (3): Everything in this area must be less than 3. The solution is 0-2, set vertically.

Medium difficulty hints, solutions for Sept. 13 Pips

– Equal (2): Everything in this area must equal 2. The solution is 2-2, orientation horizontally; 2-5, positioned vertically; 6-4, arranged vertically.
– Greater than (4): Everything in this area must exceed 4. The solution is 6-4, placed vertically.
– Number (12): Everything in this area must sum to 12. The solution is 2-5, oriented vertically; 6-4, laid out vertically; 3-3, arranged horizontally.
– Greater than (2): Everything in this area must exceed 2. The solution is 3-3, laid out horizontally.
– Number (8): Everything in this area must total 8. The solution is 6-2, arranged horizontally.
– Less than (3): Everything in this area must be less than 3. The solution is 1-3, positioned horizontally.
– Number (3): Everything in this area must sum to 3. The solution is 1-3, arranged horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, solutions for Sept. 13 Pips

– Number (11): Everything in this area must total 11. The solution is 5-4, placed vertically; 6-1, arranged horizontally.
– Number (2): Everything in this red area must total 2. The solution is 6-1, arranged horizontally; 1-4, laid out horizontally.
– Number (9): Everything in this area must total 9. The solution is 1-4, arranged horizontally; 3-5, positioned horizontally.
– Equal (3): Everything in this area must equal 3. The solution is 4-3, positioned horizontally; 3-5, laid out horizontally; 3-3, arranged vertically; 2-3, oriented horizontally; 3-0, arranged horizontally.
– Number (0): Everything in this area must sum to 0. The solution is 3-0, positioned horizontally; 0-1, laid out horizontally.
– Number (2): Everything in this dark blue area must total 2. The solution is 0-1, arranged horizontally; 1-5, positioned horizontally.
– Number (5): Everything in this green area must sum to 5. The solution is 1-5, arranged horizontally.
– Equal (2): Everything in this area must be equal to 2. The solution is 2-2, positioned horizontally; 2-3, arranged horizontally; 1-2, oriented horizontally; 2-