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NYT Pips answers — Sunday, March 15, 2026

Pips #210 · 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 — March 15, 2026

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

5 dominoes, 5 regions, a 4×5 grid — that's the easy puzzle for March 15, 2026. You're working with 1 sum region, 2 "all equal", 2 free regions. The "=" region starting at row 1, column 2 has 3 cells that must all match — every 0 in the puzzle should come here.. After that, the "=" region starting at row 3, column 3 has 3 cells that must all match — every 5 in the puzzle should come here.. Rack check: 2 doubles, 3 blank halves, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The "=" region starting at row 1, column 2 has 3 cells that must all match — every 0 in the puzzle should come here.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 0–0 domino with its 0 at row 1, column 2 and its 0 at row 1, column 3.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 5–4 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: = must all be the same number; 10 must add up to 10.

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

Medium Pips answer — March 15, 2026

3×7 board · 7 dominoes · 9 regions · by Ian Livengood

The medium board runs 3 rows by 7 columns: 7 dominoes to place across 9 regions. Rules on the board: 2 sum regions, 2 "all equal", 1 "less than", 1 "greater than", 3 free regions. The way in: the "<1" region at row 2, column 4 leaves almost no room: every cell must be 0.. After that, two cells adding to more than 10 at row 3, column 6: that's 5+6 or 6+6 territory.. Rack check: 1 blank half, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The "<1" region at row 2, column 4 leaves almost no room: every cell must be 0.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 0–2 domino with its 0 at row 2, column 4 and its 2 at row 3, column 4.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 2–5 goes at row 3, column 5 → 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: 2 must add up to 2; <1 must add up to less than 1; = must all be the same number; 5 must add up to 5; >10 must add up to more than 10.

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

Hard Pips answer — March 15, 2026

8×9 board · 15 dominoes · 18 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

15 dominoes, 18 regions, a 8×9 grid — that's the hard puzzle for March 15, 2026. You're working with 8 sum regions, 3 "all equal", 2 "less than", 3 "greater than", 1 free region. The single cell at row 1, column 4 is marked 2, so it can only hold a 2. After that, the single cell at row 3, column 9 is marked 1, so it can only hold a 1. Rack check: 6 doubles, 5 blank halves, 6 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

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

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 6–1 goes at row 4, column 9 → row 3, column 9. From there the rest should fall into place.

Solution

Tap any cell to reveal its pips, or reveal the whole board. Region rules: >2 must add up to more than 2; 2 must add up to 2; 10 must add up to 10; = must all be the same number; 12 must add up to 12.

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

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