Introducing your resource for Pips, the latest offering in the New York Times games lineup.

Debuted in August 2025, Pips brings a novel perspective on dominoes, delivering an enjoyable single-player adventure that may become your new go-to daily game.

At present, if you find yourself at a standstill, the game permits only the revelation of the complete puzzle, nudging you to progress to the next difficulty level and restart. But fear not, we’ve got you covered! Below you’ll find detailed answers that will act as clues to assist you through every difficulty level.

How to engage with Pips

If you’re already familiar with dominoes, Pips will seem quite akin to it. As highlighted in our earlier hints for Pips, the tiles, much like dominoes, are arranged either vertically or horizontally and connect with one another. The primary distinction between classic dominoes and Pips lies in the color-coded conditions that you need to fulfill. The tiles in contact do not necessarily need to correspond.

The specific conditions you have to meet pertain to the color-coded areas. For example, if a singular number is indicated, all sides of a tile in that section must total the designated number. It is likely – and frequent – for only a portion of a tile to fall within a color-coded area.

Below are typical scenarios you will face throughout the various difficulty levels:

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

• Equal: Each domino half in this area must have identical pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this area must display entirely different pips.

• Less than: Each domino half in this area must accumulate to a value less than the specified number.

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

If an area is devoid of color coding, it indicates that there are no conditions imposed on the portions of dominoes located in those areas.

Hints and answers for Easy difficulty on Dec. 5 Pips

Number (2): All items in this area must sum to 2. The solution is 2-1, positioned horizontally.