Your resource for Pips, the newest addition to the New York Times games lineup, is here.

Debuting in August 2025, Pips presents a unique twist 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 an impasse, the game allows you to reveal the complete puzzle, necessitating a move to a higher difficulty level and starting afresh. But fret not, we’ve got your back! Below are incremental answers that will act as clues to assist you through each level of difficulty.

How to play Pips

If you’ve played dominoes previously, you’ll grasp the basic mechanics of Pips. As previously highlighted in our hints articles for Pips, the tiles, akin to dominoes, can be oriented vertically or horizontally and link with one another. The primary distinction between classic dominoes and Pips lies in the color-coded requirements you must fulfill. The adjacent tiles are not necessarily required to match.

The requirements you must satisfy pertain specifically to the color-coded regions. For example, if it indicates a single digit, each side of a tile in that region must sum to the given number. It’s possible – and frequently the case – for just half a tile to fall within a color-coded area.

Below are typical scenarios you will face across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this area must total the specified number.

• Equal: Each domino half in this area must carry the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this region must have completely distinct numbers of pips.

• Less than: Each domino half in this space must total less than the specified number.

• Greater than: Each domino half in this area must total more than the given number.

If a section lacks any color coding, it implies there are no stipulations on the portions of dominoes in those areas.

Easy difficulty hints, answers for Dec. 22 Pips

Number (6): Everything in this space must sum up to