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NYT Pips answers — Thursday, July 16, 2026

Pips #333 · 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.

Jump to: Easy · Medium · Hard

Easy Pips answer — July 16, 2026

2×7 board · 5 dominoes · 5 regions · by Ian Livengood

Easy today is a 2×7 board with 5 dominoes and 5 regions. Rules on the board: 3 sum regions, 1 "greater than", 1 free region. The way in: the single cell marked ">5" at row 1, column 1 must be a 6.. After that, three cells adding to 1 at row 1, column 5 means mostly zeros. Rack check: 4 doubles, 2 blank halves, 2 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

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

Hint 2 — first domino

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

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 0–0 goes at row 1, column 5 → row 2, column 5. From there the rest should fall into place.

Solution

Tap any cell to reveal its pips, or reveal the whole board. Region rules: >5 must add up to more than 5; 6 must add up to 6; 1 must add up to 1; 16 must add up to 16.

>5
6
1
16
Solution as text
  1. 5–5 — 5 at row 2, column 2, 5 at row 2, column 3
  2. 6–6 — 6 at row 1, column 1, 6 at row 2, column 1
  3. 4–1 — 4 at row 2, column 7, 1 at row 2, column 6
  4. 3–3 — 3 at row 1, column 3, 3 at row 1, column 4
  5. 0–0 — 0 at row 1, column 5, 0 at row 2, column 5

Medium Pips answer — July 16, 2026

5×5 board · 7 dominoes · 7 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

Medium today is a 5×5 board with 7 dominoes and 7 regions. Rules on the board: 4 sum regions, 1 "all equal", 2 free regions. The way in: the "=" region starting at row 2, column 2 has 3 cells that must all match — every 3 in the puzzle should come here.. After that, the pair at row 1, column 1 adds to 10; list the ways to make 10 with the rack you have.. Rack check: 2 doubles, 1 blank half, 2 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

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

Hint 2 — first domino

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

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 5–5 goes at row 1, column 1 → row 1, 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.

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

Hard Pips answer — July 16, 2026

6×8 board · 15 dominoes · 14 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

Hard today is a 6×8 board with 15 dominoes and 14 regions. You're working with 3 sum regions, 5 "all equal", 3 "less than", 2 "greater than", 1 free region. The single cell at row 4, column 7 is marked 6, so it can only hold a 6. After that, the single cell at row 6, column 5 is marked 1, so it can only hold a 1. Rack check: 4 doubles, 8 blank halves, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 4, column 7 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 8 and its 6 at row 4, column 7.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 0–1 goes at row 5, column 5 → row 6, column 5. 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 less than 3; >3 must add up to more than 3; >4 must add up to more than 4; 2 must add up to 2.

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

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