Pips is the New York Times logic puzzle built around dominoes. There are no words and no trivia: you get a board, a set of dominoes and a few rules, and you have to make everything fit. This guide explains the rules, what each symbol means and how to approach a board. If you only want today’s solution, see today’s NYT Pips hints and answers.
What is NYT Pips?
Pips launched in August 2025 as a daily logic game from NYT Games. The name comes from the dots on a domino, which are called pips. Each day has three puzzles, Easy, Medium and Hard, and each one has exactly one job: place every domino on the board so that every coloured region follows its rule.
How to play NYT Pips
- Look at the board. It is made of square cells, and some cells are grouped into coloured regions with a symbol or number.
- Look at your dominoes. Each domino has two halves, and each half shows 0 to 6 pips.
- Drag a domino onto the board. It covers two neighbouring cells. Tap it to rotate it.
- Make each region follow its rule, using the pips that land inside that region.
- The puzzle is solved when every domino is placed and every region is satisfied.
One domino can sit across two regions. Each half then counts toward the region it is in, which is where most of the thinking happens.
What the Pips symbols mean
- A number (for example 8): the pips in the region must add up to exactly that number.
- =: every half in the region must show the same number of pips.
- ≠: every half in the region must show a different number of pips.
- > and a number: the pips in the region must add up to more than that number.
- < and a number: the pips in the region must add up to less than that number.
- No colour: the cell has no rule, so any half can go there.
NYT Pips tips and strategy
- Start with the tightest regions. A one-cell region with a number tells you exactly which half goes there. A region that must total 0 can only hold blanks.
- Check extreme totals. A two-cell region that must total 12 needs two sixes. A three-cell region that must total 1 needs two blanks and a one.
- Count your numbers. Before filling a large = region, count how many halves of each number you actually have. Often only one number appears enough times.
- Watch the shape of the board. A cell with only one free neighbour forces the direction of the domino that covers it.
- Leave rule-free cells for last. They accept anything, so use them to park the dominoes that are left over.
- Undo early. If a region cannot be completed with the dominoes that remain, the mistake is usually two or three placements back.
Easy, Medium and Hard
Easy boards are small and can usually be solved by following forced placements one after another. Medium boards add more regions that share dominoes. Hard boards are larger, and you often need to compare two or three regions at once before anything is forced. If you are new, solve Easy and Medium first to learn how the symbols interact.
More NYT puzzle help
- Today’s nyt pips hints and answers, updated every day
- How to play the NYT Mini Crossword
- How to play NYT Letter Boxed
- How to play NYT Spelling Bee
- How to play NYT Connections
- How to play Wordle
- How to play NYT Strands
- All of today’s NYT puzzle hints and answers
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What does the equals sign mean in NYT Pips?
Every domino half inside that region must show the same number of pips.
Can a domino sit in two regions in Pips?
Yes. A domino can cross a region border, and each half counts toward the region it sits in.
How many Pips puzzles are there each day?
Three: an Easy, a Medium and a Hard puzzle.
