Pips is the newest game in the New York Times collection. Released in August 2025, this game brings a novel twist to dominoes, offering an enjoyable solo gameplay experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

At present, if you find yourself unable to progress, the game reveals the entire puzzle, necessitating a move to the next difficulty level and a fresh start. However, there’s no need for concern, as we have solutions for you! Below are hints to assist you in navigating each difficulty stage.

How to play Pips

If you’re familiar with dominoes, you’ll understand how Pips is played. Like dominoes, tiles can be placed either vertically or horizontally, linking together. The key distinction lies in the color-coded conditions you need to meet. The tiles that are adjacent do not necessarily need to match.

The requirements you must satisfy are unique to the color-coded spaces. For instance, if a single number is indicated, all sides of a tile in that area must total the specified number. It’s possible—and quite common—for just a portion of a tile to reside within a color-coded space.

Here are typical examples you’ll encounter across different difficulty stages:

– Number: All pips in this area must total the number.
– Equal: Every half of a domino in this area must show the same number of pips.
– Not Equal: Each half of a domino in this area must display a completely different number of pips.
– Less than: Each domino half in this area must sum to less than the number.
– Greater than: Each domino half in this area must sum to more than the number.

If a section lacks color coding, there are no requirements on the parts of dominoes in those areas.

Easy difficulty hints, answers for Sept. 9 Pips

– Number (3): Everything in this purple area must add up to 3. The solution is 0-1, arranged horizontally; 1-1, arranged horizontally.
– Number (3): Everything in this red area must sum to 3. The solution is 0-0, arranged vertically; 3-3, arranged vertically.
– Number (3): Everything in this light blue area must add up to 3. The solution is 3-3, arranged vertically.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for Sept. 9 Pips

– Number (2): Everything in this purple area must sum to 2. The solution is 2-6, arranged vertically.
– Number (3): Everything in this red area must total 3. The solution is 3-5, arranged vertically.
– Number (17): Everything in this light blue area must add up to 17. The solution is 2-6, arranged vertically; 5-1, arranged vertically; 6-6, arranged horizontally.
– Not Equal: Everything in this yellow area must differ. The solution is 6-6, arranged horizontally; 3-5, arranged vertically; 4-0, arranged vertically.
– Not Equal: Everything in this dark blue area must differ. The solution is 4-6, arranged vertically; 4-1, arranged vertically.
– Number (1): Everything in this green area must sum to 1. The solution is 5-1, arranged vertically; 0-3, arranged vertically.
– Number (0): Everything in this area must add up to 0. The solution is 4-0, arranged vertically; 0-2, arranged vertically.
– Number (1): Everything in this red area must total 1. The solution is 4-1, arranged vertically.
– Number (3): Everything in this light blue area must sum to 3. The solution is 0-3, arranged vertically.
– Number (2): Everything in this yellow area must add up to 2. The solution is 0-2, arranged vertically.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for Sept. 9 Pips

– Equal (4): Everything in this area must be equivalent to 4. The solution is 4-4, arranged horizontally; 4-3, arranged vertically.
– Number (3): Everything in this area must sum to 3. The solution is 1-1, arranged horizontally; 1-2, arranged vertically.
– Number (12): Everything in this area must total 12. The solution is 6-2, arranged vertically; 6-5, arranged vertically.
– Not Equal: Everything in this area must be distinct. The solution is 2-3, arranged horizontally; 1-2, arranged vertically.
– Number (1): Everything in this area must sum to 1. The solution is 1-3, arranged horizontally.
– Number (6): Everything in this area must total 6. The solution is 1-3, arranged horizontally; 6-3, arranged horizontally.
– Number (2): Everything in