How to play
How to play Pips
Pips is the New York Times' domino puzzle. To play Pips, lay every domino from the tray on the board so that each coloured region meets its condition: a sum, all equal (=), all different (≠), or a sum under (<) or over (>) a number. Cells without a colour take anything.
- Three puzzles a day
- Easy, Medium, Hard
- Dominoes 0 to 6
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- ✓ Right
Place every domino
Every domino goes on the board, each covering two neighbouring cells. Turn it either way: across or upright, either end first.
- ✓ Right
A number is a sum
A region with a number: its pips add up to exactly that number. Here 3 + 4 = 7.
- ✓ Right
= means all equal
An = region: every cell in it shows the same number of pips. The halves can come from different dominoes.
- ✓ Right
≠ means all different
A ≠ region: no two cells in it show the same number. A double can never lie inside one.
- ✓ Right
< and > are limits
< and >: the region's pips add up to less, or more, than the number. 1 + 0 is under 3; 6 + 5 is over 10.
- ✗ Not allowed
Every condition counts
A cell with no colour has no condition: any number goes there. But every coloured region must be met, or the puzzle is not solved: a 2 and a 3 are not equal.
From the board to the answer
A puzzle of our own, with these six dominoes in the tray:
The board, as it is given
The double 6 on the = region, then the 6-0 and the 2-2
Solved: every domino placed, every condition met
Where to play, and the controls
- Open nytimes.com/games/pips in a browser, or Pips in the NYT Games app.
- Pick the day's Easy, Medium or Hard puzzle.
- Drag a domino from the tray onto two cells; tap it to turn it. Drag it back to the tray to take it out.
Tips that solve it faster
Start where there is no choice
A region of one cell with a number fixes that half outright. Start there, then at regions whose condition leaves few choices.
Read the board's shape
A cell with only one free neighbour must share its domino with that neighbour. Corners and dead ends settle a domino's place.
Use the doubles
Doubles fit = regions; they never fit inside a ≠ region. Sort the doubles in the tray first.
Big pips for big sums
A > region with a high number wants the 5s and 6s; a < region wants blanks and 1s. Hold the big dominoes back for the regions that need them.
Count the whole tray
Add every pip in the tray: the cells of the board hold exactly that total between them. When only one region is left open, its sum is known.
Check both halves
When two dominoes could swap, look at where each one's other half lands: usually only one of them meets the neighbouring region too.
Questions
What is Pips?
Pips is a daily logic puzzle from The New York Times: lay a set of dominoes on a board so that every coloured region meets its condition. There are three puzzles a day, Easy, Medium and Hard.
Do you have to use every domino in Pips?
Yes. Every domino in the tray must be placed, and every cell of the board ends up covered.
Can you rotate dominoes in Pips?
Yes. A domino can lie across or upright, and either end can come first.
What does a blank cell mean in Pips?
Nothing: a cell outside the coloured regions has no condition, and any number of pips can go there.
What does a number on a region mean?
Its pips must add up to that number exactly. With < or > in front, the sum must be under or over it; = means every cell shows the same number, ≠ that no two do.
Pips is a game by The New York Times. AWA GAMES is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by The New York Times. The boards on this page are our own.
Last updated .