❓ Pips FAQ

NYT Pips is a daily domino logic puzzle published by the New York Times. Players place dominoes on an irregular grid to satisfy region sums and constraint symbols (=, ≠, >, <). It combines elements of Sudoku and domino placement for a unique puzzle experience.

NYT releases a new Pips puzzle daily at midnight Eastern Time. Each puzzle has three difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, and Hard. The puzzle refreshes every day, so there's always a new challenge waiting for you.

NYT Pips requires a New York Times Games subscription to play. However, Pips Hints offers free hints, answers, and strategies to help you solve the puzzles. You can also play our free online Pips game on this website!

NYT Pips puzzles are created by professional puzzle constructors. The puzzles are carefully designed to be challenging but solvable, with each difficulty level offering a different experience.

The constraint symbols are:

• = (Equals): Both cells must have the same number
• ≠ (Not Equals): The cells must have different numbers
• > (Greater Than): The left/top cell must be greater than the right/bottom cell
• < (Less Than): The left/top cell must be less than the right/bottom cell

Each domino half can have a pip value from 0 to 6. Dominoes are similar to standard dominoes but may include 0 values. The puzzle provides a specific set of dominoes that must all be placed.

Yes! Dominoes can be placed either horizontally or vertically. The orientation matters for covering two adjacent cells. You can rotate dominoes before placing them to fit the available space.

If you get stuck, you can:

• Use the undo button to backtrack and try different placements
• Check our tips and strategies for help
• Look at our daily hints for progressive clues
• Take a break and return with fresh eyes

Solve times vary by difficulty:

• Easy: 5-10 minutes for most players
• Medium: 10-20 minutes
• Hard: 20-40 minutes or more

With practice, you'll get faster at recognizing patterns and solving efficiently.

For beginners, we recommend:

1. Start with Easy puzzles to learn the basics
2. Look for single-cell regions first (they're the easiest)
3. Identify large equals blocks (very restrictive)
4. Count your domino values before placing
5. Use undo liberally—there's no penalty!

Check our complete beginner's guide for more details.

Hard puzzles require advanced techniques:

• Identify bottleneck cells with multiple constraints
• Track domino inventory carefully
• Use "what-if" analysis for tricky placements
• Plan several moves ahead
• Don't be afraid to backtrack strategically

See our advanced strategies for more tips.

Yes! NYT Pips is available on mobile devices through the New York Times Games app or mobile browser. The touch controls make it easy to place and rotate dominoes on smaller screens.

NYT Pips is available within the New York Times Games app, which includes all NYT puzzle games. There's no separate Pips-only app at this time.

NYT Games subscribers can access past puzzles through the archive. On Pips Hints, we provide answers and solutions for past puzzles to help you learn and practice.

You can find today's Pips answer and hints on our daily answer page. We provide progressive hints that won't spoil the fun, plus complete solutions for all difficulty levels.