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NYT Pips answers — Friday, March 20, 2026

Pips #215 · 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 20, 2026

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

The easy board runs 4 rows by 5 columns: 5 dominoes to place across 6 regions. You're working with 1 sum region, 1 "all equal", 1 "greater than", 3 free regions. The way in: the single cell marked ">5" at row 4, column 1 must be a 6.. After that, the "=" region starting at row 2, column 1 has 3 cells that must all match — every 3 in the puzzle should come here.. Rack check: 3 doubles, 3 blank halves, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell marked ">5" at row 4, column 1 must be a 6.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 6–0 domino with its 6 at row 4, column 1 and its 0 at row 3, column 1.

Hint 3 — second domino

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

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

Medium Pips answer — March 20, 2026

7×4 board · 8 dominoes · 8 regions · by Ian Livengood

Medium today is a 7×4 board with 8 dominoes and 8 regions. Rules on the board: 4 sum regions, 4 "all equal". Best foothold — the single cell at row 3, column 4 is marked 6, so it can only hold a 6. After that, the single cell at row 6, column 4 is marked 4, so it can only hold a 4. Rack check: 3 doubles, 3 blank halves, 3 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 3, column 4 is marked 6, so it can only hold a 6. Find the domino with a 6 that fits there.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 0–6 domino with its 0 at row 4, column 4 and its 6 at row 3, column 4.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 3–4 goes at row 6, column 3 → row 6, 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; 3 must add up to 3; 6 must add up to 6; 4 must add up to 4.

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

Hard Pips answer — March 20, 2026

8×6 board · 12 dominoes · 12 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

Hard today is a 8×6 board with 12 dominoes and 12 regions. Rules on the board: 10 sum regions, 2 "all equal". Best foothold — the single cell at row 1, column 2 is marked 6, so it can only hold a 6. After that, the single cell at row 7, column 2 is marked 6, so it can only hold a 6. Rack check: 4 doubles, 3 blank halves, 4 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 1, column 2 is marked 6, so it can only hold a 6. Find the domino with a 6 that fits there.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 0–6 domino with its 0 at row 2, column 2 and its 6 at row 1, column 2.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 2–6 goes at row 7, column 1 → row 7, 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; 6 must add up to 6.

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

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