Ethan Carter
Discover your comprehensive guide to Pips, the innovative game featured in the New York Times collection.
Launched in August 2025, Pips offers a refreshing twist on the classic game of dominoes, providing an engaging single-player experience that may become your new go-to daily challenge.
Currently, if you encounter difficulties, the game will reveal the entire puzzle, compelling you to switch to a higher difficulty level and restart. But worry not! Below, we present step-by-step hints designed to help you navigate through each challenge level.
Mastering the Gameplay of Pips
If you have experience with dominoes, you will find Pips familiar. As mentioned in our previous hints for Pips, the tiles are aligned either vertically or horizontally, connecting with one another. The key distinction between traditional dominoes and Pips lies in the color-coded conditions that you must fulfill. Tiles that touch do not necessarily need to match.
The conditions you must satisfy are specific to the color-coded sections. For instance, if a space indicates a single number, the total of every tile side in that area must equal the specified number. It is common for only part of a tile to reside within a color-coded area.
Below are typical scenarios you will encounter across the various difficulty levels:
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Number: All pips in this area must sum to the designated number.
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Equal: Each domino segment in this space must feature the same number of pips.
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Not Equal: Each domino segment in this area must display a completely different number of pips.
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Less than: The total of every domino segment in this area must be less than the specified number.
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Greater than: The total of every domino segment in this area must exceed the specified number.
If an area lacks color coding, it indicates that there are no constraints on the segments of dominoes within those spaces.
Hints and Solutions for Easy Difficulty on May 19 in Pips
Less Than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 4. The correct placement is 2-2, positioned horizontally; and 1-1, oriented vertically.
Number (5): The total in this section must equal 5. The optimal arrangement is 1-1, placed vertically; and 4-4, situated vertically.
Greater Than (9): The total in this area must exceed 9. The answer is 4-4, arranged vertically; and 6-6, set horizontally.
Equal (3): All items in this space must equal 3. The solution is 3-3, placed horizontally.
Hints and Solutions for Medium Difficulty on May 19 in Pips
Number (11): The total in this space must equal 11. The answer is 4-4, positioned horizontally; 1-0, placed vertically; and 6-5, arranged vertically.
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Less Than (2): Everything in this area must be less than 2. The answer is 1-0, arranged vertically.
Number (11): The total in this section must equal 11. The solution is 6-5, placed vertically; and 6-3, arranged horizontally.
Greater Than (4): The total in this area must exceed 4. The answer is 6-4, positioned vertically.
Greater Than (3): The total in this space must exceed 3. The answer is 6-4, arranged vertically.
Number (1): The total in this section must equal 1. The solution is 2-1, placed vertically.
Equal (3): All items in this space must equal 3. The answers are 6-3, oriented horizontally; and 3-3, also placed horizontally.
Hints and Solutions for Hard Difficulty on May 19 in Pips
Equal (1): Everything in this area must equal 1. The solutions are 0-1, placed horizontally; 1-1, arranged horizontally; and 1-2, positioned horizontally.
Greater Than (0): Everything in this space must exceed 0. The answer is 1-2, positioned horizontally.
Number (9): The total in this light blue area must equal 9. The solutions are 3-1, placed horizontally; and 3-3, arranged horizontally.
Number (2): Everything in this space must sum to 2. The solutions are 3-1, placed horizontally; and 1-5, positioned horizontally.
Number (8): The total in this green area must equal 8. The answer is 4-4, placed horizontally.
Number (9): The total in this purple area must equal 9. The answer is 5-4, placed horizontally.
Number (9): The total in this dark blue space must equal 9. The answers are 1-5, placed horizontally; and 4-6, arranged horizontally.
Number (9): The total in this light blue area must equal 9. The answers are 2-2, placed horizontally; and 5-3, positioned horizontally.
Number (8): The total in this space must equal 8. The answers are 5-3, positioned horizontally; and 5-6, arranged horizontally.
Equal (6): Everything in this area must equal 6. The answers are 4-6, placed horizontally; 5-6, arranged horizontally; and 6-6, positioned horizontally.
<em>If you’re searching for more puzzles, Mashable offers a variety of games!</em> Visit our games hub<em> for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crosswords, and more.</em>
Daniel Mercer
