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NYT Pips answers — Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Pips #227 · 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 — April 1, 2026

6×6 board · 10 dominoes · 8 regions · by Ian Livengood

10 dominoes, 8 regions, a 6×6 grid — that's the easy puzzle for April 1, 2026. Rules on the board: 5 sum regions, 2 "all equal", 1 free region. Best foothold — the single cell at row 1, column 1 is marked 4, so it can only hold a 4. After that, the single cell at row 1, column 2 is marked 1, so it can only hold a 1. Rack check: 5 doubles, 4 blank halves, 3 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

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

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 6–6 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 4; 1 must add up to 1; 18 must add up to 18; = must all be the same number; 15 must add up to 15.

4
1
18
=
15
12
=
Solution as text
  1. 4–1 — 4 at row 1, column 1, 1 at row 1, column 2
  2. 0–0 — 0 at row 2, column 6, 0 at row 3, column 6
  3. 0–3 — 0 at row 4, column 6, 3 at row 5, column 6
  4. 0–6 — 0 at row 1, column 6, 6 at row 1, column 5
  5. 2–2 — 2 at row 6, column 1, 2 at row 6, column 2
  6. 2–3 — 2 at row 6, column 3, 3 at row 6, column 4
  7. 3–3 — 3 at row 6, column 5, 3 at row 6, column 6
  8. 4–5 — 4 at row 2, column 1, 5 at row 3, column 1
  9. 5–5 — 5 at row 4, column 1, 5 at row 5, column 1
  10. 6–6 — 6 at row 1, column 3, 6 at row 1, column 4

Medium Pips answer — April 1, 2026

6×6 board · 10 dominoes · 8 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

The medium board runs 6 rows by 6 columns: 10 dominoes to place across 8 regions. The mix is 2 sum regions, 5 "all equal", 1 free region. Best foothold — three cells adding to 2 at row 1, column 1 means mostly zeros. After that, the "=" region starting at row 1, column 4 has 4 cells that must all match — every 2 in the puzzle should come here.. Rack check: 3 doubles, 1 blank half, 5 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

Three cells adding to 2 at row 1, column 1 means mostly zeros. Count how many zeros the rack has.

Hint 2 — first domino

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

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 6–2 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: 2 must add up to 2; = must all be the same number; 7 must add up to 7.

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

Hard Pips answer — April 1, 2026

6×6 board · 10 dominoes · 12 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

10 dominoes, 12 regions, a 6×6 grid — that's the hard puzzle for April 1, 2026. You're working with 3 sum regions, 3 "all equal", 2 "less than", 4 "greater than". The way in: the single cell at row 5, column 6 is marked 3, so it can only hold a 3. After that, the "<2" region at row 6, column 6 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.. Rack check: 3 doubles, 4 blank halves, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 5, column 6 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 3–1 domino with its 3 at row 5, column 6 and its 1 at row 6, column 6.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 1–5 goes at row 2, column 6 → row 1, 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: 8 must add up to 8; >2 must add up to more than 2; <6 must add up to less than 6; >8 must add up to more than 8; = must all be the same number.

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

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