Looking for help with today’s Easy, Medium and Hard NYT Pips puzzles? Whether you’re after a nudge in the right direction or just want to compare notes, below you’ll find everything you need to solve each of today’s Pips plus a full walkthrough for today’s Hard Pips.
It’s Tuesday and there’s lots to be done, so let’s just knock out each of these Pips puzzles straight away!
Looking for Monday’s Pips? Read our guide right here.
How To Play Pips
In Pips, you have a grid of multicolored boxes. Each colored area represents a different “condition” that you have to achieve. You have a select number of dominoes that you have to spend filling in the grid. You must use every domino and achieve every condition properly to win. There are Easy, Medium and Difficult tiers.
Here’s an example of a difficult tier Pips:
Pips example
Screenshot: Erik Kain
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As you can see, the grid has a bunch of symbols and numbers with each color. On the far left, the three purple squares must not equal one another (hence the equal sign crossed out). The two pink squares next to that must equal a total of 0. The zig-zagging blue squares all must equal one another. You click on dominoes to rotate them, and will need to since they have to be rotated to fit where they belong.
Not shown on this grid are other conditions, such as “less than” or “greater than.” If there are multiple tiles with > or < signs, the total of those tiles must be greater or less than the listed number. It varies by grid. Blank spaces can have anything. The various possible conditions are:
- = All pips must equal one another in this group.
- ≠ All pips must not equal one another in this group.
- > The pip in this tile (or tiles) must be greater than the listed number.
- < The pip in this tile must be less than the listed number.
- An exact number (like 6) The pip must equal this exact number.
- Tiles with no conditions can be anything.
In order to win, you have to use up all your dominoes by filling in all the squares, making sure to fit each condition. Sometimes there’s only one way to solve the puzzle. Other times, there can be two or more different solutions. Play today’s Pips puzzle here.
Today’s Pips Solutions And Walkthrough
Below are the solutions for the Easy and Medium tier Pips. After that, I’ll walk you through the Hard puzzle. Spoilers ahead.
Today’s Easy Pips
Easy Piips
Screenshot: Erik Kain
Today’s Medium Pips
Medium Pips
Screenshot: Erik Kain
Hard Pips Walkthrough And Solution
Here’s today’s Hard Pips:
Medium Pips
Screenshot: Erik Kain
Today’s Hard Pips is the letter “F” and the letter “A” as in Far Away or Filthy Animal. There’s not a great starting point, lots of doubles, and no clear way to position anything. This took some trial and error for sure.
Step 1
Start with the 6/6 domino in the lower Blue = tiles and then place the 6/2 domino from Blue = into Pink 8. The 6/5 domino goes from Pink 8 down into Dark Blue > 3 and the 4/4 domino fills in the top tiles of Pink =.
Hard Pips
Screenshot: Erik Kain
Step 2
Place the 4/5 domino from Pink = down into Dark Blue > 2 and the 3/3 domino in Orange =, then hop over to the “F” and place the 0/6 domino in the rightmost tiles of Purple 9.
Hard Pips
Screenshot: Erik Kain
Solution
The 3/2 domino goes from Purple 9 down into Orange < 3 and the 6/1 domino goes from Purple > 3 into Green 8. Finish this Pips with the 3/4 domino in the remaining Purple 8 tiles.
Hard Pips
Screenshot: Erik Kain
Have a great Tuesday, Pipsqueaks!
How’d you do on today’s Pips?
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