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NYT Pips answers — Monday, August 17, 2026

Pips #365 · 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 — August 17, 2026

3×4 board · 5 dominoes · 6 regions · by Ian Livengood

5 dominoes, 6 regions, a 3×4 grid — that's the easy puzzle for August 17, 2026. You're working with 1 sum region, 2 "all equal", 2 "less than", 1 free region. The way in: the "=" region starting at row 1, column 2 has 3 cells that must all match — every 6 in the puzzle should come here.. After that, the "<1" region at row 1, column 1 leaves almost no room: every cell must be 0.. Rack check: 2 blank halves, 3 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The "=" region starting at row 1, column 2 has 3 cells that must all match — every 6 in the puzzle should come here.

Hint 2 — first domino

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

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 1–0 goes at row 3, column 2 → row 3, column 1. From there the rest should fall into place.

Solution

Tap any cell to reveal its pips, or reveal the whole board. Region rules: <1 must add up to less than 1; = must all be the same number; 7 must add up to 7.

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

Medium Pips answer — August 17, 2026

4×6 board · 7 dominoes · 5 regions · by Ian Livengood

Medium today is a 4×6 board with 7 dominoes and 5 regions. Rules on the board: 1 sum region, 1 "all equal", 1 "less than", 2 "greater than". Best foothold — the "=" region starting at row 4, column 3 has 4 cells that must all match — every 5 in the puzzle should come here.. Rack check: 3 doubles, 4 blank halves, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The "=" region starting at row 4, column 3 has 4 cells that must all match — every 5 in the puzzle should come here.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 5–2 domino with its 5 at row 4, column 3 and its 2 at row 3, column 3.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 2–3 goes at row 2, column 3 → 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: <9 must add up to less than 9; 2 must add up to 2; >2 must add up to more than 2; >3 must add up to more than 3; = must all be the same number.

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

Hard Pips answer — August 17, 2026

7×8 board · 13 dominoes · 12 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

13 dominoes, 12 regions, a 7×8 grid — that's the hard puzzle for August 17, 2026. Rules on the board: 7 sum regions, 1 "all equal", 1 "less than", 3 "greater than". Best foothold — the single cell at row 7, column 3 is marked 4, so it can only hold a 4. After that, the two-cell region at row 5, column 1 adds to 0: both cells must be 0. Rack check: 2 doubles, 5 blank halves, 3 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 7, column 3 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 1–4 domino with its 1 at row 7, column 2 and its 4 at row 7, column 3.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 0–2 goes at row 5, column 1 → row 4, column 1. 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 more than 10; <3 must add up to less than 3; >9 must add up to more than 9; 4 must add up to 4; 0 must add up to 0.

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

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