Pips is the newest offering in the New York Times games lineup. Debuting in August 2025, this innovative game presents a novel approach to dominoes, delivering an entertaining solo experience that could turn into your next everyday gaming habit.

At present, if you find yourself in a difficult spot, the game only permits you to reveal the whole puzzle, necessitating a jump to the next difficulty level and starting over. However, there’s no need to fret, we’ve got your back! Listed below are partial answers that will function as hints to assist you in navigating through each level of difficulty.

How to engage with Pips

For those who have played dominoes previously, you’ll be somewhat acquainted with the mechanics of Pips. Like traditional dominoes, the tiles are arranged either vertically or horizontally and interconnect. The key distinction between classic dominoes and Pips lies in the color-coded criteria that you need to fulfill. The adjoining tiles don’t necessarily need to correspond.

The criteria you must satisfy are specific to the color-coded areas. For example, if a single digit is shown, all sides of a tile in that area must sum up to that number. It’s common – and possible – for only part of a tile to reside within a color-coded zone.

Here are typical scenarios you’ll face across various difficulty levels:

– **Number**: All the pips in this area must total the indicated number.
– **Equal**: Every half of a domino in this space must display an identical number of pips.
– **Not Equal**: Every half of a domino in this area must display distinctly different numbers of pips.
– **Less than**: Every half of a domino in this area must sum to a value less than the specified number.
– **Greater than**: Every half of a domino in this area must total a quantity greater than the given number.

If a region lacks any color coding, it signifies that there are no conditions imposed on the segments of dominoes within those sections.

Easy difficulty hints, answers for Sept. 18 Pips

– **Number (6):** All components in this area must total 6. The solution is 0-6, arranged vertically; 0-0, arranged horizontally.
– **Number (0):** All components in this area must total 0. The solution is 0-0, arranged horizontally; 3-0, arranged vertically.
– **Equal (3):** All components in this area must be equal to 3. The solution is 3-0, arranged vertically; 3-6, arranged vertically.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for Sept. 18 Pips

– **Not Equal:** All components in this space must be different. The solution is 0-5, arranged horizontally; 0-3, arranged vertically.
– **Number (4):** All components in this area must total 4. The solution is 0-3, arranged vertically; 4-5, arranged vertically.
– **Number (20):** All components in this area must total 20. The solution is 4-5, arranged vertically; 0-5, arranged horizontally; 6-2, arranged vertically; 4-2, arranged vertically.
– **Less than (3):** All components in this area must be below 3. The solution is 0-2, arranged vertically.
– **Equal (2):** All components in this area must equal 2. The solution is 0-2, arranged vertically; 4-2, arranged vertically; 6-2, arranged vertically.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for Sept. 18 Pips

– **Number (2):** All components in this area must sum to 2. The solution is 1-5, arranged horizontally; 1-2, arranged horizontally.
– **Greater Than (3):** All components in this area must exceed 3. The solution is 4-2, arranged horizontally.
– **Number (10):** All components in this area must total 10. The solution is 5-2, arranged horizontally; 5-0, arranged vertically.
– **Number (0):** All components in this area must equal 0. The solution is 5-0, arranged vertically.
– **Greater Than (4):** All components in this area must exceed 4. The solution is 1-5, arranged horizontally.
– **Equal (2):** All components in this area must equal 2. The solution is 1-2, arranged horizontally; 4-2, arranged horizontally; 5-2, arranged horizontally; 2-2, arranged vertically.
– **Number (2):** All components in this area must total 2. The solution is 1-1, arranged vertically.
– **Equal (3):** All components in this area must equal 3. The solution is 5-3, arranged vertically; 3-6, arranged horizontally.