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NYT Pips answers — Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Pips #185 · 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 — February 18, 2026

3×4 board · 5 dominoes · 6 regions · by Ian Livengood

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

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 3, column 4 is marked 1, so it can only hold a 1. Find the domino with a 1 that fits there.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 5–1 domino with its 5 at row 2, column 4 and its 1 at row 3, column 4.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 6–3 goes at row 3, column 1 → 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 more than 3; = must all be the same number; >5 must add up to more than 5; 1 must add up to 1.

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

Medium Pips answer — February 18, 2026

4×5 board · 6 dominoes · 8 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

6 dominoes, 8 regions, a 4×5 grid — that's the medium puzzle for February 18, 2026. You're working with 2 sum regions, 1 "all equal", 1 "less than", 2 "greater than", 2 free regions. The way in: the "=" pair at row 4, column 3 needs two identical pips — a double, or matching halves from two dominoes.. After that, the pair at row 2, column 3 adds to 8; list the ways to make 8 with the rack you have.. Rack check: 2 doubles, 1 blank half, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The "=" pair at row 4, column 3 needs two identical pips — a double, or matching halves from two dominoes.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 1–5 domino with its 1 at row 4, column 3 and its 5 at row 3, column 3.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 4–3 goes at row 1, column 3 → row 2, 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: <3 must add up to less than 3; 11 must add up to 11; >4 must add up to more than 4; 8 must add up to 8; >1 must add up to more than 1.

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

Hard Pips answer — February 18, 2026

10×7 board · 16 dominoes · 17 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

The hard board runs 10 rows by 7 columns: 16 dominoes to place across 17 regions. The mix is 8 sum regions, 5 "all equal", 2 "less than", 2 "greater than". The single cell at row 1, column 5 is marked 2, so it can only hold a 2. After that, the single cell at row 4, column 7 is marked 2, so it can only hold a 2. Rack check: 2 doubles, 3 blank halves, 3 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 1, column 5 is marked 2, so it can only hold a 2. Find the domino with a 2 that fits there.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 6–2 domino with its 6 at row 2, column 5 and its 2 at row 1, column 5.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 2–1 goes at row 4, column 7 → row 4, 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: = must all be the same number; 2 must add up to 2; <2 must add up to less than 2; 12 must add up to 12; >2 must add up to more than 2.

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

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