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NYT Pips answers — Monday, March 16, 2026

Pips #211 · 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 16, 2026

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

5 dominoes, 5 regions, a 3×4 grid — that's the easy puzzle for March 16, 2026. The mix is 3 sum regions, 1 "all equal", 1 free region. Best foothold — the single cell at row 1, column 4 is marked 2, so it can only hold a 2. After that, the "=" pair at row 3, column 3 needs two identical pips — a double, or matching halves from two dominoes.. Rack check: 2 doubles, 3 blank halves, 3 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 5–2 domino with its 5 at row 2, column 4 and its 2 at row 1, column 4.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 0–0 goes at row 3, column 3 → row 3, 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: 18 must add up to 18; 2 must add up to 2; 8 must add up to 8; = must all be the same number.

18
2
8
=
Solution as text
  1. 6–6 — 6 at row 1, column 2, 6 at row 1, column 3
  2. 0–0 — 0 at row 3, column 3, 0 at row 3, column 4
  3. 5–2 — 5 at row 2, column 4, 2 at row 1, column 4
  4. 3–6 — 3 at row 3, column 2, 6 at row 2, column 2
  5. 5–0 — 5 at row 3, column 1, 0 at row 2, column 1

Medium Pips answer — March 16, 2026

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

The medium board runs 5 rows by 6 columns: 8 dominoes to place across 9 regions. The mix is 1 sum region, 6 "all equal", 1 "less than", 1 "greater than". Best foothold — the "<2" region at row 3, column 2 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.. After that, the "=" pair at row 1, column 4 needs two identical pips — a double, or matching halves from two dominoes.. Rack check: 3 doubles, 2 blank halves, 2 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The "<2" region at row 3, column 2 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.

Hint 2 — first domino

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

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 5–5 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: >4 must add up to more than 4; = must all be the same number; <2 must add up to less than 2; 6 must add up to 6.

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

Hard Pips answer — March 16, 2026

8×9 board · 16 dominoes · 15 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

Hard today is a 8×9 board with 16 dominoes and 15 regions. Rules on the board: 12 sum regions, 2 "all equal". Best foothold — the single cell at row 3, column 8 is marked 0, so it can only hold a 0. After that, the single cell at row 3, column 9 is marked 3, so it can only hold a 3. Rack check: 5 doubles, 4 blank halves, 4 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 3, column 8 is marked 0, so it can only hold a 0. Find the domino with a 0 that fits there.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 0–1 domino with its 0 at row 3, column 8 and its 1 at row 3, column 7.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 2–3 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: 9 must add up to 9; = must all be the same number; 0 must add up to 0; 3 must add up to 3; 2 must add up to 2.

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

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