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NYT Pips answers — Thursday, January 15, 2026

Pips #151 · Edited by Ian Livengood · Easy by Ian Livengood · Medium by Ian Livengood · 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.

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Easy Pips answer — January 15, 2026

4×6 board · 6 dominoes · 7 regions · by Ian Livengood

6 dominoes, 7 regions, a 4×6 grid — that's the easy puzzle for January 15, 2026. Rules on the board: 3 sum regions, 3 "all equal", 1 free region. Best foothold — the single cell at row 1, column 1 is marked 4, so it can only hold a 4. After that, the single cell at row 1, column 6 is marked 0, so it can only hold a 0. Rack check: 2 doubles, 3 blank halves, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 1, column 1 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 1, column 1 and its 1 at row 1, column 2.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 0–1 goes at row 1, column 6 → row 1, column 5. From there the rest should fall into place.

Solution

Tap any cell to reveal its pips, or reveal the whole board. Region rules: 4 must add up to 4; = must all be the same number; 7 must add up to 7; 0 must add up to 0.

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

Medium Pips answer — January 15, 2026

5×6 board · 7 dominoes · 8 regions · by Ian Livengood

Medium today is a 5×6 board with 7 dominoes and 8 regions. Rules on the board: 4 sum regions, 2 "all equal", 1 "greater than", 1 free region. Best foothold — the single cell at row 3, column 1 is marked 4, so it can only hold a 4. After that, the single cell at row 5, column 2 is marked 5, so it can only hold a 5. Rack check: 3 doubles, 2 blank halves, 3 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 3, column 1 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 3–4 domino with its 3 at row 4, column 1 and its 4 at row 3, column 1.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 2–5 goes at row 5, column 1 → row 5, 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: = must all be the same number; >4 must add up to more than 4; 4 must add up to 4; 12 must add up to 12; 5 must add up to 5.

=
>4
4
12
=
5
5
Solution as text
  1. 2–5 — 2 at row 5, column 1, 5 at row 5, column 2
  2. 6–6 — 6 at row 3, column 2, 6 at row 4, column 2
  3. 0–2 — 0 at row 3, column 3, 2 at row 3, column 4
  4. 3–4 — 3 at row 4, column 1, 4 at row 3, column 1
  5. 5–5 — 5 at row 1, column 5, 5 at row 2, column 5
  6. 2–2 — 2 at row 3, column 5, 2 at row 3, column 6
  7. 6–0 — 6 at row 2, column 6, 0 at row 1, column 6

Hard Pips answer — January 15, 2026

10×3 board · 9 dominoes · 11 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

Hard today is a 10×3 board with 9 dominoes and 11 regions. Rules on the board: 1 sum region, 4 "all equal", 4 "greater than". Best foothold — the single cell at row 8, column 2 is marked 5, so it can only hold a 5. After that, the "=" region starting at row 2, column 2 has 3 cells that must all match — every 1 in the puzzle should come here.. Rack check: 2 doubles, 2 blank halves, 2 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 8, column 2 is marked 5, so it can only hold a 5. Find the domino with a 5 that fits there.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 2–5 domino with its 2 at row 7, column 2 and its 5 at row 8, column 2.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 4–1 goes at row 1, column 2 → row 2, 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: >3 must add up to more than 3; >1 must add up to more than 1; = must all be the same number; ≠ must all be different; 5 must add up to 5.

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

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