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NYT Pips answers — Sunday, January 18, 2026

Pips #154 · 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 18, 2026

4×4 board · 5 dominoes · 8 regions · by Ian Livengood

Easy today is a 4×4 board with 5 dominoes and 8 regions. Rules on the board: 2 sum regions, 1 "all equal", 1 "less than", 1 "greater than", 3 free regions. Best foothold — the single cell at row 2, column 1 is marked 3, so it can only hold a 3. After that, the "<2" region at row 3, column 3 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.. Rack check: 1 blank half, 3 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 2, column 1 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 3–0 domino with its 3 at row 2, column 1 and its 0 at row 1, column 1.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 1–6 goes at row 3, column 3 → 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: 3 must add up to 3; 10 must add up to 10; = must all be the same number; <2 must add up to less than 2; >4 must add up to more than 4.

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

Medium Pips answer — January 18, 2026

5×6 board · 9 dominoes · 10 regions · by Ian Livengood

9 dominoes, 10 regions, a 5×6 grid — that's the medium puzzle for January 18, 2026. You're working with 5 sum regions, 2 "all equal", 1 "less than", 1 "greater than", 1 free region. The single cell at row 2, column 1 is marked 4, so it can only hold a 4. After that, the single cell at row 2, column 6 is marked 4, so it can only hold a 4. Rack check: 3 doubles, 6 blank halves, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 2, 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 4–6 domino with its 4 at row 2, column 1 and its 6 at row 3, column 1.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 4–2 goes at row 2, column 6 → row 3, column 6. 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 3; >4 must add up to more than 4; 4 must add up to 4; = must all be the same number; 2 must add up to 2.

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

Hard Pips answer — January 18, 2026

6×8 board · 16 dominoes · 13 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

The hard board runs 6 rows by 8 columns: 16 dominoes to place across 13 regions. The mix is 12 sum regions, 1 "all equal". The single cell at row 1, column 2 is marked 5, so it can only hold a 5. After that, the single cell at row 1, column 4 is marked 6, so it can only hold a 6. Rack check: 4 doubles, 5 blank halves, 5 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 1, 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 1–5 domino with its 1 at row 1, column 1 and its 5 at row 1, column 2.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 1–6 goes at row 1, column 3 → row 1, column 4. 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 3; 5 must add up to 5; 2 must add up to 2; 6 must add up to 6; 10 must add up to 10.

3
5
2
6
6
10
=
27
4
6
1
12
7
Solution as text
  1. 5–6 — 5 at row 4, column 6, 6 at row 4, column 7
  2. 0–0 — 0 at row 4, column 2, 0 at row 4, column 3
  3. 3–4 — 3 at row 6, column 8, 4 at row 6, column 7
  4. 0–2 — 0 at row 4, column 1, 2 at row 5, column 1
  5. 1–1 — 1 at row 2, column 1, 1 at row 3, column 1
  6. 0–6 — 0 at row 6, column 3, 6 at row 6, column 4
  7. 2–2 — 2 at row 1, column 5, 2 at row 1, column 6
  8. 1–0 — 1 at row 2, column 3, 0 at row 3, column 3
  9. 3–5 — 3 at row 5, column 8, 5 at row 4, column 8
  10. 1–6 — 1 at row 1, column 3, 6 at row 1, column 4
  11. 5–4 — 5 at row 3, column 8, 4 at row 2, column 8
  12. 3–6 — 3 at row 6, column 6, 6 at row 6, column 5
  13. 2–1 — 2 at row 6, column 1, 1 at row 6, column 2
  14. 3–3 — 3 at row 1, column 7, 3 at row 1, column 8
  15. 2–6 — 2 at row 2, column 6, 6 at row 3, column 6
  16. 1–5 — 1 at row 1, column 1, 5 at row 1, column 2

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