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NYT Pips answers — Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Pips #143 · Edited by Ian Livengood · Easy by Ian Livengood · Medium by Rodolfo Kurchan · Hard by Rodolfo Kurchan

Stuck on today's New York Times Pips? Below are three progressive hints for each difficulty, then the full solution as a tap-to-reveal board. Hints first — the answer only when you want it.

Jump to: Easy · Medium · Hard

Easy Pips answer — January 7, 2026

4×4 board · 5 dominoes · 7 regions · by Ian Livengood

The easy board runs 4 rows by 4 columns: 5 dominoes to place across 7 regions. The mix is 2 sum regions, 2 "all equal", 1 "greater than", 2 free regions. Best foothold — the single cell at row 4, column 3 is marked 4, so it can only hold a 4. After that, the "=" pair at row 1, column 2 needs two identical pips — a double, or matching halves from two dominoes.. Rack check: 1 blank half.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 4, column 3 is marked 4, so it can only hold a 4. Find the domino with a 4 that fits there.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 4–1 domino with its 4 at row 4, column 3 and its 1 at row 4, column 4.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 2–4 goes at row 1, column 2 → row 1, column 1. From there the rest should fall into place.

Solution

Tap any cell to reveal its pips, or reveal the whole board. Region rules: 7 must add up to 7; = must all be the same number; >4 must add up to more than 4; 4 must add up to 4.

7
=
=
>4
4
Solution as text
  1. 3–5 — 3 at row 2, column 4, 5 at row 3, column 4
  2. 2–3 — 2 at row 2, column 2, 3 at row 2, column 3
  3. 0–3 — 0 at row 3, column 1, 3 at row 2, column 1
  4. 4–1 — 4 at row 4, column 3, 1 at row 4, column 4
  5. 2–4 — 2 at row 1, column 2, 4 at row 1, column 1

Medium Pips answer — January 7, 2026

4×6 board · 7 dominoes · 9 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

The medium board runs 4 rows by 6 columns: 7 dominoes to place across 9 regions. The mix is 1 sum region, 2 "all equal", 2 "less than", 1 "greater than", 3 free regions. Best foothold — the "=" region starting at row 3, column 4 has 3 cells that must all match — every 5 in the puzzle should come here.. After that, the "<2" region at row 3, column 2 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.. Rack check: 2 blank halves, 3 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The "=" region starting at row 3, column 4 has 3 cells that must all match — every 5 in the puzzle should come here.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 5–3 domino with its 5 at row 3, column 4 and its 3 at row 2, column 4.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 5–0 goes at row 2, column 2 → row 3, column 2. From there the rest should fall into place.

Solution

Tap any cell to reveal its pips, or reveal the whole board. Region rules: <6 must add up to less than 6; = must all be the same number; 9 must add up to 9; <2 must add up to less than 2; >3 must add up to more than 3.

<6
=
9
<2
=
>3
Solution as text
  1. 5–0 — 5 at row 2, column 2, 0 at row 3, column 2
  2. 2–6 — 2 at row 1, column 1, 6 at row 2, column 1
  3. 4–5 — 4 at row 4, column 3, 5 at row 4, column 4
  4. 3–6 — 3 at row 2, column 6, 6 at row 1, column 6
  5. 6–5 — 6 at row 2, column 5, 5 at row 3, column 5
  6. 0–3 — 0 at row 3, column 3, 3 at row 2, column 3
  7. 5–3 — 5 at row 3, column 4, 3 at row 2, column 4

Hard Pips answer — January 7, 2026

5×9 board · 12 dominoes · 15 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

12 dominoes, 15 regions, a 5×9 grid — that's the hard puzzle for January 7, 2026. You're working with 8 sum regions, 1 "all equal", 1 "less than", 3 "greater than", 1 free region. The way in: the single cell at row 1, column 5 is marked 3, so it can only hold a 3. After that, the single cell at row 5, column 3 is marked 4, so it can only hold a 4. Rack check: 1 double, 5 blank halves, 2 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 1, column 5 is marked 3, so it can only hold a 3. Find the domino with a 3 that fits there.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 2–3 domino with its 2 at row 2, column 5 and its 3 at row 1, column 5.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 4–1 goes at row 5, column 3 → row 4, column 3. From there the rest should fall into place.

Solution

Tap any cell to reveal its pips, or reveal the whole board. Region rules: 6 must add up to 6; 9 must add up to 9; 3 must add up to 3; 0 must add up to 0; = must all be the same number.

6
9
3
0
=
≠
>1
1
<7
>8
5
4
>5
2
Solution as text
  1. 2–6 — 2 at row 3, column 5, 6 at row 4, column 5
  2. 3–5 — 3 at row 1, column 8, 5 at row 2, column 8
  3. 2–4 — 2 at row 1, column 2, 4 at row 1, column 3
  4. 6–5 — 6 at row 5, column 6, 5 at row 5, column 5
  5. 2–3 — 2 at row 2, column 5, 3 at row 1, column 5
  6. 0–4 — 0 at row 2, column 1, 4 at row 1, column 1
  7. 1–2 — 1 at row 5, column 8, 2 at row 5, column 9
  8. 3–4 — 3 at row 3, column 8, 4 at row 4, column 8
  9. 0–5 — 0 at row 3, column 3, 5 at row 2, column 3
  10. 4–1 — 4 at row 5, column 3, 1 at row 4, column 3
  11. 0–0 — 0 at row 4, column 1, 0 at row 5, column 1
  12. 2–0 — 2 at row 3, column 2, 0 at row 3, column 1

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