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NYT Pips answers — Thursday, March 5, 2026

Pips #200 · 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.

Jump to: Easy · Medium · Hard

Easy Pips answer — March 5, 2026

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

Easy today is a 3×5 board with 4 dominoes and 5 regions. The mix is 2 sum regions, 1 "less than", 1 free region. The single cell at row 1, column 3 is marked 3, so it can only hold a 3. After that, the single cell at row 3, column 4 is marked 5, so it can only hold a 5. Rack check: 1 double, 1 blank half, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

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

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 5–2 goes at row 3, column 4 → row 3, 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 3; <1 must add up to less than 1; ≠ must all be different; 5 must add up to 5.

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

Medium Pips answer — March 5, 2026

5×6 board · 8 dominoes · 9 regions · by Ian Livengood

Medium today is a 5×6 board with 8 dominoes and 9 regions. You're working with 6 sum regions, 3 "all equal". The single cell at row 1, column 3 is marked 4, so it can only hold a 4. After that, the single cell at row 2, column 5 is marked 1, so it can only hold a 1. Rack check: 3 doubles, 3 blank halves, 3 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

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

Hint 3 — second domino

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

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

Hard Pips answer — March 5, 2026

5×9 board · 14 dominoes · 16 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

The hard board runs 5 rows by 9 columns: 14 dominoes to place across 16 regions. The mix is 11 sum regions, 2 "all equal", 1 "less than", 1 "greater than", 1 free region. The single cell at row 1, column 2 is marked 1, so it can only hold a 1. After that, the single cell at row 2, column 6 is marked 6, so it can only hold a 6. Rack check: 2 doubles, 4 blank halves, 5 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

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

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 0–6 goes at row 2, column 5 → row 2, 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: 1 must add up to 1; = must all be the same number; 0 must add up to 0; 6 must add up to 6; 4 must add up to 4.

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

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