Pips is the newest member of the New York Times gaming lineup. Released in August 2025, this innovative game presents a novel spin on dominoes, delivering an enjoyable single-player experience that might just become your new daily indulgence.

At present, if you find yourself at a standstill, the game only permits you to unveil the whole puzzle, compelling you to shift to the next level of difficulty and restart. But fear not! Below are clues to assist you in managing each difficulty tier.

How to engage with Pips

If you have experience with dominoes, you will have a fundamental grasp of how Pips operates. Similar to dominoes, tiles are arranged either vertically or horizontally and connect with one another. The primary distinction lies in the color-coded criteria you need to satisfy. The adjacent tiles do not necessarily need to correspond.

The requirements you have to fulfill are particular to the color-coded zones. For instance, if a solitary number is indicated, every side of a tile in that zone must sum to the given number. It’s not uncommon—indeed, typical—for just half a tile to fall within a color-coded area.

Here are typical cases you will encounter throughout the difficulty levels:

– Number: All the pips in this zone must total the specified number.
– Equal: Each domino half in this area must exhibit the identical number of pips.
– Not Equal: Each domino half in this space must display a completely distinct number of pips.
– Less than: Each domino half in this area must sum to less than the stated number.
– Greater than: Each domino half in this zone must total more than the indicated number.

If a zone lacks color coding, it signifies there are no stipulations regarding the pieces of dominoes situated within those territories.

Easy difficulty hints, solutions for Sept. 14 Pips

– Equal (5): Everything in this purple zone must equal 5. The solution is 5-3, arranged vertically; 5-0, arranged horizontally.
– Greater than (6): Everything in this area must exceed 6. The solution is 6-3, arranged horizontally.
– Equal (3): Everything in this zone must equal 3. The solution is 6-3, arranged horizontally; 5-3, arranged vertically.
– Equal (2): Everything in this space must equal 2. The solution is 2-2, arranged horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, solutions for Sept. 14 Pips

– Number (1): Everything in this zone must total 1. The solution is 1-1, arranged vertically.
– Equal (3): Everything in this area must equal 3. The solution is 3-3, arranged horizontally; 3-1, arranged vertically.
– Equal (5): Everything in this zone must equal 5. The solution is 5-5, arranged horizontally; 4-5, arranged vertically; 5-6, arranged vertically; 5-0, arranged vertically.
– Number (2): Everything in this yellow zone must total 2. The solution is 3-1, arranged vertically; 1-2, arranged horizontally.
– Number (2): Everything in this dark blue zone must total 2. The solution is 1-2, arranged horizontally.
– Greater than (5): Everything in this zone must be greater than 5. The solution is 5-6, arranged vertically.
– Less than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 4. The solution is 5-4, arranged vertically.

Hard difficulty hints, solutions for Sept. 14 Pips

– Number (1): Everything in this area must total 1. The solution is 1-5, arranged horizontally.
– Number (11): Everything in this area must total 11. The solution is 1-5, arranged horizontally; 4-6, arranged vertically.
– Number (9): Everything in this area must sum to 9. The solution is 4-5, arranged vertically; 4-1, arranged vertically.
– Number (0): Everything in this area must total 0. The solution is 0-1, arranged vertically.
– Equal (2): Everything in this zone must equal 2. The solution is 2-2, arranged horizontally; 2-3, arranged vertically.
– Number (3): Everything in this area must total 3. The solution is 4-1, arranged vertically; 2-6, arranged vertically.
– Number (12): Everything in this area must total 12. The solution is 6-5, arranged vertically; 2-6, arranged vertically.
– Number (4): Everything in this area must total 4. The solution is 4-0, arranged vertically.
– Number (8): Everything in this area must total 8.