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NYT Pips answers — Monday, January 26, 2026

Pips #162 · 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.

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Easy Pips answer — January 26, 2026

3×4 board · 6 dominoes · 7 regions · by Ian Livengood

6 dominoes, 7 regions, a 3×4 grid — that's the easy puzzle for January 26, 2026. You're working with 1 sum region, 2 "less than", 3 "greater than", 1 free region. The single cell marked ">5" at row 2, column 4 must be a 6.. After that, the "<2" region at row 1, column 4 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.. Rack check: 1 double, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell marked ">5" at row 2, column 4 must be a 6.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 6–5 domino with its 6 at row 2, column 4 and its 5 at row 2, column 3.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 5–1 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 less than 3; 30 must add up to 30; <2 must add up to less than 2; >4 must add up to more than 4; >5 must add up to more than 5.

<3
30
<2
>4
>5
>3
Solution as text
  1. 4–5 — 4 at row 3, column 1, 5 at row 2, column 1
  2. 6–5 — 6 at row 2, column 4, 5 at row 2, column 3
  3. 5–5 — 5 at row 2, column 2, 5 at row 3, column 2
  4. 2–5 — 2 at row 1, column 1, 5 at row 1, column 2
  5. 5–1 — 5 at row 1, column 3, 1 at row 1, column 4
  6. 5–3 — 5 at row 3, column 3, 3 at row 3, column 4

Medium Pips answer — January 26, 2026

3×4 board · 6 dominoes · 7 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

The medium board runs 3 rows by 4 columns: 6 dominoes to place across 7 regions. The mix is 2 sum regions, 3 "all equal", 1 "less than", 1 free region. The "=" pair at row 1, column 1 needs two identical pips — a double, or matching halves from two dominoes.. After that, the "=" pair at row 1, column 3 needs two identical pips — a double, or matching halves from two dominoes.. Rack check: 2 doubles, 3 blank halves, 2 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The "=" pair at row 1, column 1 needs two identical pips — a double, or matching halves from two dominoes.

Hint 2 — first domino

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

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 0–6 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: = must all be the same number; 10 must add up to 10; <4 must add up to less than 4.

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

Hard Pips answer — January 26, 2026

7×8 board · 10 dominoes · 11 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

Hard today is a 7×8 board with 10 dominoes and 11 regions. Rules on the board: 5 sum regions, 1 "all equal", 2 "less than", 1 "greater than", 1 free region. The way in: the "<2" region at row 7, column 8 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.. After that, the "=" pair at row 1, column 3 needs two identical pips — a double, or matching halves from two dominoes.. Rack check: 4 doubles, 1 blank half, 4 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The "<2" region at row 7, column 8 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 0–1 domino with its 0 at row 7, column 7 and its 1 at row 7, column 8.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 6–6 goes at row 1, column 2 → row 1, 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: >4 must add up to more than 4; = must all be the same number; 5 must add up to 5; ≠ must all be different; 6 must add up to 6.

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

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