Welcome to your comprehensive guide to Pips, the newest game featured in the New York Times collection.

Launched in August 2025, Pips introduces a distinctive take on dominoes, offering an enjoyable single-player experience that might just become your daily gaming routine.

At present, if you find yourself at a standstill, the game only allows you to unveil the full puzzle, compelling you to proceed to the next level of difficulty and start fresh. However, we’ve got you covered! Below are segmented hints that will aid you in navigating through each level of difficulty.

How to play Pips

If you have experience with dominoes, you’ll have a basic understanding of how Pips functions. As mentioned in our earlier hint articles for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, can be aligned either vertically or horizontally and interconnect. The key distinction between a classic game of dominoes and Pips lies in the color-coded requirements you must fulfill. The adjacent tiles do not necessarily need to correspond.

The requirements you need to satisfy are tied to the color-coded sections. For instance, if it presents a lone number, all sides of a tile within that area must sum up to the indicated number. It is not uncommon – and indeed, typical – for only a portion of a tile to lie within a color-coded section.

Here are common scenarios you will encounter throughout the levels of difficulty:

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

If a region lacks any color coding, it signifies there are no requirements for the portions of dominoes within those sections.

Easy difficulty hints, answers for Feb. 24 Pips

Equal (4): Everything in this section must equal 4. The solution is 4-2, arranged horizontally; 4-0, arranged vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this section must sum to 6. The solution is 4-2, arranged horizontally; 2-2, arranged vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this section must total 6. The solution is 4-0, arranged vertically; 6-1, arranged horizontally.

Number (1): Everything in this section must total 11. The solution is 6-1, arranged horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for Feb. 24 Pips

Number (0): Everything in this section must sum to 0. The solution is 5-0, arranged horizontally.

Number (12): Everything in this section must total 12. The solution is 5-0, arranged vertically; 2-2, arranged vertically; 5-3, arranged horizontally.

Equal (2): Everything in this section must equal 2. The solution is 2-2, arranged vertically; 2-6, arranged vertically.

Equal (4): Everything in this section must equal 4. The solution is 4-4, arranged horizontally.

Equal (1): Everything in this section must equal 1. The solution is 1-1, arranged vertically; 1-6, arranged vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this green section must sum to 6. The solution is 2-6, arranged vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this purple section must sum to 6. The solution is 1-6, arranged vertically.

Number (0): Everything in this section must sum to 0. The solution is 1-0, arranged horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for Feb. 24 Pips

Less Than (4): Everything in this section must be less than 4. The solution is 3-5, arranged vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this section must total 4. The solution is 4-3, arranged horizontally.

Less Than (4): Everything in this section must be less than 4. The solution is 4-3, arranged horizontally.

Greater Than (4): Everything in this section must exceed 4. The solution is 3-5, arranged vertically.

Greater Than (4): Everything in this section must exceed 4. The solution is 6-4, arranged horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this section must total 4. The solution is 6-4, arranged horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this section must total 4. The solution is 0-4, arranged vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this section must total 4. The solution is