Hints and Answers for NYT Pips on May 16, 2026

Welcome to your comprehensive guide on Pips, the exciting new addition to the New York Times game lineup.

Launched in August 2025, Pips offers a fresh take on dominoes, providing an engaging single-player experience that could easily become part of your daily routine.

If you find yourself stuck while playing, the game currently only allows you to reveal the entire puzzle, compelling you to advance to the next difficulty level and restart. But don’t worry! We have compiled detailed hints to assist you in navigating each level of difficulty.

Mastering the Gameplay of Pips

If you have prior experience with dominoes, you will quickly grasp the fundamentals of Pips. As outlined in our previous hints articles, the tiles are arranged vertically or horizontally, connecting with one another. The primary distinction between traditional dominoes and Pips lies in the color-coded conditions that you need to fulfill. The tiles that touch do not necessarily have to match in number.

The color-coded spaces impose specific conditions. For instance, if a space displays a single number, every side of a tile in that space must sum up to that number. It’s worth noting that it is common for only part of a tile to reside within a color-coded area.

Here are some typical scenarios you may encounter across various difficulty levels:

• Number: The total of all pips in this space must equal the designated number.

• Equal: Each domino half in this space must show the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must display a different number of pips.

• Less than: The sum of all domino halves in this space must be less than the specified number.

• Greater than: The total of all domino halves in this space must exceed the given number.

If a section lacks color coding, it indicates that there are no restrictions on the domino segments placed within those areas.

Hints and Answers for Easy Difficulty Level on May 16 Pips

Less Than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 2-3, arranged vertically.

Equal (3): All tiles in this space must equal 3. The answers are 3-3, aligned vertically; and 2-3, also placed vertically.

Equal (1): All tiles in this space must equal 1. The answers are 1-1, positioned vertically; and 1-5, arranged vertically.

Greater Than (10): All tiles in this space must be greater than 10. The answers are 5-2, placed vertically; and 1-5, also arranged vertically.

Hints and Answers for Medium Difficulty Level on May 16 Pips

Number (6): The total in this space must equal 6. The answers are 2-6, positioned vertically; and 4-1, arranged horizontally.

Number (2): The total in this space must equal 2. The answers are 4-1, placed horizontally; and 1-6, also arranged horizontally.

Number (10): The total in this space must equal 10. The answers are 1-6, arranged horizontally; and 4-3, placed horizontally; and another 4-3, also laid horizontally.

Equal (3): All tiles in this space must equal 3. The answers are 4-3, arranged horizontally; and 3-5, positioned vertically.

Number (6): The total in this space must equal 6. The answer is 2-6, positioned vertically.

Number (11): The total in this space must equal 11. The answers are 3-5, placed vertically; and 6-5, also arranged vertically.

Number (2): The total in this space must equal 2. The answer is 2-1, positioned vertically.

Number (5): The total in this space must equal 5. The answer is 6-5, arranged vertically.

Greater Than (5): The total in this space must be greater than 5. The answer is 6-4, placed horizontally.

Less Than (5): The total in this space must be less than 5. The answer is 6-4, positioned horizontally.

Number (5): The total in this space must equal 5. The answer is 5-5, arranged horizontally.

Number (5): The total in this space must equal 5. The answer is 5-5, arranged horizontally.

Hints and Answers for Hard Difficulty Level on May 16 Pips

Number (1): The total in this space must equal 1. The answer is 1-4, arranged vertically.

Number (2): The total in this space must equal 2. The answer is 2-3, positioned vertically.

Number (9): The total in this space must equal 9. The answers are 1-4, placed vertically; and 5-0, also arranged vertically.

Number (3): The total in this space must equal 3. The answer is 3-4, positioned vertically.

Less Than (2): The total in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 5-0, arranged vertically.

Number (4): The total in this space must equal 4. The answer is 4-2, placed vertically.

Not Equal: All tiles in this space must show different values. The answers are 3-0, placed vertically; 2-5, arranged vertically; 3-4, positioned vertically; and 6-0, also laid vertically.

Less Than (3): The total in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 4-2, arranged vertically.

Number (5): The total in this space must equal 5. The answer is 5-5, positioned vertically.

Number (5): The total in this space must equal 5. The answer is 5-5, positioned vertically.

Less Than (3): The total in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 2-6, arranged vertically.

Number (4): The total in this space must equal 4. The answer is 0-4, arranged vertically.

Equal (0): All values in this space must equal 0. The answers are 3-0, placed vertically; 0-0, positioned vertically; 0-2, arranged vertically; 6-0, laid vertically; and 0-4, arranged vertically.

Number (3): The total in this space must equal 3. The answer is 6-3, positioned vertically.

Equal (6): All values in this space must equal 6. The answers are 2-6, placed vertically; and 6-1, arranged vertically.

Number (2): The total in this space must equal 2. The answer is 0-2, positioned vertically.

Number (1): The total in this space must equal 1. The answer is 6-1, arranged vertically.

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