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NYT Pips answers — Friday, April 24, 2026

Pips #250 · 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 24, 2026

2×5 board · 5 dominoes · 6 regions · by Ian Livengood

5 dominoes, 6 regions, a 2×5 grid — that's the easy puzzle for April 24, 2026. Rules on the board: 2 sum regions, 2 "all equal", 1 "less than", 1 free region. Best foothold — the single cell at row 1, column 1 is marked 3, so it can only hold a 3. After that, the "=" region starting at row 1, column 3 has 3 cells that must all match — every 0 in the puzzle should come here.. Rack check: 3 blank halves.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 1, column 1 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 5–3 domino with its 5 at row 2, column 1 and its 3 at row 1, column 1.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 2–0 goes at row 1, column 2 → row 1, 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; = must all be the same number; 10 must add up to 10; <2 must add up to less than 2.

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

Medium Pips answer — April 24, 2026

5×8 board · 8 dominoes · 10 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

The medium board runs 5 rows by 8 columns: 8 dominoes to place across 10 regions. You're working with 4 sum regions, 3 "less than", 3 free regions. The way in: the "<2" region at row 2, column 6 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.. After that, the pair at row 3, column 6 adds to 7; list the ways to make 7 with the rack you have.. Rack check: 3 doubles, 1 blank half, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The "<2" region at row 2, column 6 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 0–1 domino with its 0 at row 2, column 6 and its 1 at row 3, column 6.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 3–2 goes at row 4, column 5 → row 4, 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: 7 must add up to 7; <2 must add up to less than 2; <5 must add up to less than 5; <3 must add up to less than 3.

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

Hard Pips answer — April 24, 2026

5×9 board · 16 dominoes · 23 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

The hard board runs 5 rows by 9 columns: 16 dominoes to place across 23 regions. The mix is 10 sum regions, 3 "all equal", 4 "less than", 5 "greater than", 1 free region. The single cell at row 1, column 1 is marked 2, so it can only hold a 2. After that, the single cell at row 1, column 2 is marked 5, so it can only hold a 5. Rack check: 2 doubles, 7 blank halves, 4 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 1, column 1 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 2–5 domino with its 2 at row 1, column 1 and its 5 at row 1, column 2.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 0–6 goes at row 1, column 3 → row 2, 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: 2 must add up to 2; 5 must add up to 5; 0 must add up to 0; <2 must add up to less than 2; >2 must add up to more than 2.

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

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