Need some help with the NYT Pips today? Unlike the other NYT Games, Pips is one of the few that focuses on numbers and logical placement. No worries, though, we've got you covered.
Below, we've compiled hints and solutions for the Easy and Medium puzzles, along with a comprehensive guide for the Hard Pips. You can play along here.
Spoilers below for the December 14 Pips. Only read if you want the solutions for today's Pips puzzles.
Alternatively, for more word-based puzzling, check out our guides for tips and solutions to Connections, Strands and Wordle.
Pips tips — how to play Pips
Pips is a domino placement game featuring a grid of multicolored boxes that gets more complicated and larger as you go up in difficulty. Each colored zone represents a condition you have to meet.
You select dominoes and place dominoes into the grid to meet those conditions. You must use every domino to achieve each condition and win the game. Clicking or tapping on the dominoes rotates them so you can position the tiles.
In the above example from a medium puzzle, there are four colored zones. Your placed dominoes must total 12 in the purple zone. In the teal and orange sectors, the number of domino pips must be greater than 3.
In the hard mode, the zones and symbols get more complicated. For example, you could see a crossed-out equal sign, meaning that the three squares you place must be different numbers.
Here are the various symbols you might see:
- = All pips must be the same in this group
- ≠ All pips must not be the same number in this group
- > The pips in the tile must be greater than the listed number
- < The pips in this tile must be less than the listed number
- A number [like 12], the pips must equal that exact number
- Tiles with no color can be anything; think of this as a free space
To win a game of Pips, you must fulfill every condition and fill every square. In some puzzles, there is only one correct solution. In others, usually the harder ones, there can be multiple solutions.
Today's Pips answers — hints to help you solve it
Below are the solutions for the Easy and Medium-level Pips. After that, you can find a fuller walkthrough for the Hard level. Spoilers below.
Today's Easy Pips solution
Today's Medium Pips solution
Today's Hard Pips walkthrough and solution
Is that an F? An upside-down L with a tumor? What it is, it's pretty obvious where you want to start, or at least begin your consideration. There are only so many 4 tiles, so I tried a few in the lower case shape. With the four-square blue only equally 4, that made the 4/0 the most likely candidate. For the purple >4 square, I needed a 5 or a 6 that wasn't attached to a high number. The 5/3 tile was the only one that fit the bill, which made it easy to slot the 1/0 to complete that side.
Now on to the big boy. I started with the orange = zone in the bottom left as an easy way to get rid of one of the sole double tiles (3/3). The red 12 zone on the upper left tidbit can only be two sixes, so I experimented with a few different combinations. With the blue four = space right below it, I looked for any four of a kind with at least one tied to a six.
Between that and the double 2 squares right next door, everything started falling into place.
Here's how that looks:
Hard Pips solution
