Enjoy your Tuesday! Here’s your manual for Pips, the latest member of the New York Times gaming lineup.

Introduced in August 2025, Pips provides a novel take on dominoes, delivering an entertaining solitary experience that could easily become a part of your daily gaming habits.

If you find yourself at an impasse, the game presently only allows you to disclose the complete puzzle, prompting you to advance to the next stage and restart. But don’t fret, we’re here to assist! Below are clues to guide you through each level of difficulty.

Playing Pips

If you’re familiar with dominoes, you’ll recognize some aspects of Pips. As we noted in our earlier tips for Pips, the tiles, similar to dominoes, can be arranged either vertically or horizontally and connect with one another. The primary distinction lies in the color-coded criteria you need to fulfill. The adjacent tiles do not necessarily have to correspond.

The criteria pertain specifically to the colored zones. For instance, if a single number is indicated, the total of each side of a tile within that zone must equal that number. It’s typical for just half of a tile to fall within a color-coded area.

Typical examples across various difficulty levels include:

• Number: All pips within this area must sum to the indicated number.

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

• Not Equal: Each domino half in this area must have a distinct number 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 a section lacks color coding, there are no restrictions on the domino parts within those regions.

Hints for Easy Difficulty, Answers for Oct. 28 Pips

Number (1): Must equal 1. Solution: 1-2, vertically.

Number (5): Must equal 5. Solution: 1-2, vertically; 3-0, horizontally.

Number (0): Must equal 0. Solution: 3-0, horizontally.

Number (1): Must equal 1. Solution: 1-4, horizontally.

Number (5): Must equal 5. Solution: 1-4, horizontally; 1-0, vertically.

Number (0): Must equal 0. Solution: 1-0, vertically.

Hints for Medium Difficulty, Answers for Oct. 28 Pips

Number (2): Must equal 2. Solution: 0-2, horizontally.

Number (4): Must equal 4. Solution: 4-1, horizontally.

Greater Than (4): Must exceed 4. Solution: 5-1, vertically.

Number (6): Must equal 6. Solution: 1-6, vertically.

Equal (1): Must equal 1. Solution: 4-1, horizontally; 1-6, vertically; 5-1, vertically; 1-0, vertically.

Number (8): Must equal 8. Solution: 4-6, vertically; 1-1, vertically.

Number (0): Must equal 0. Solution: 1-0, vertically.

Hints for Hard Difficulty, Answers for Oct. 28 Pips

Number (1): Must equal 1. Solution: 1-3, horizontally.