Introducing your resource for Pips, the newest title in the New York Times collection.
Launched in August 2025, Pips delivers a distinct twist on dominoes, offering an enjoyable solo gameplay experience that might become your next daily gaming routine.
At this time, if you’re feeling stuck, the game discloses the complete puzzle, compelling you to advance to the next difficulty tier and restart. Nonetheless, we’ve got you covered! Below are sectioned hints that will assist you at each difficulty stage.
How to engage with Pips
If you have ever played dominoes, you will grasp the fundamental concept of playing Pips. As mentioned in our earlier hint articles for Pips, the tiles, similar to dominoes, can be positioned vertically or horizontally and interconnect. The key distinction between a standard domino game and Pips is the color-coded conditions that must be satisfied. The adjacent tiles do not necessarily need to correspond.
The conditions required are specific to the color-coded areas. For instance, if it shows a single number, every side of a tile in that area must collectively equal the indicated number. It is not uncommon – and quite typical – for just part of a tile to lie within a color-coded zone.
Below are typical examples you will encounter across different difficulty levels:
Number: All pips in this area must sum to the indicated number.
Equal: Each domino half in this area must exhibit the same number of pips.
Not Equal: Each domino half in this area must feature entirely different numbers of pips.
Less than: Each domino half in this area must total less than the specified number.
Greater than: Each domino half in this area must total more than the specified number.
If an area lacks any color coding, it signifies that there are no rules governing the segments of dominoes within those areas.
Easy difficulty hints, answers for Dec. 9 Pips
Number (3): Everything within this area must total 3. The answer is 2-2, arranged horizontally; 1-3, arranged horizontally.
Equal (3): Everything in this area must equal 3. The answer is 1-3, arranged horizontally; 3-2, arranged vertically.
Number (2): Everything in this area must total 2. The answer is 3-2, arranged vertically; 6-0, arranged horizontally.
Medium difficulty hints, answers for Dec. 9 Pips
Number (7): Everything in this area must sum to 7. The answer is 1-1, arranged horizontally; 5-3, arranged vertically.
Number (9): Everything in this area must total 9. The answer is 5-1, arranged vertically; 4-0, arranged horizontally.
Number (4): Everything in this area must sum to 4. The answer is 4-0, arranged horizontally; 4-3, arranged vertically.
Number (2): Everything in this area must total 2. The answer is 5-1, arranged vertically; 1-0, arranged horizontally.
Number (0): Everything in this area must total 0. The answer is 1-0, arranged horizontally.
Number (5): Everything in this area must sum to 5. The answer is 1-2, arranged horizontally; 4-3, arranged vertically.
Hard difficulty hints, answers for Dec. 9 Pips
Number (14): Everything in this