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NYT Pips answers — Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Pips #402 · Edited by Ian Livengood · Easy by Ian Livengood · Medium by Ian Livengood · Hard by Rodolfo Kurchan

Grid Puzzles · Added September 23, 2026, updated September 25, 2026 · About these pages

Looking for the New York Times Pips from September 23, 2026? 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

Also today: LinkedIn games answers — Zip, Pinpoint, Crossclimb, Mini Sudoku, Patches and Wend.

Easy Pips answer — September 23, 2026

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

5 dominoes, 7 regions, a 4×5 grid: that's the easy puzzle for September 23, 2026. You're working with 7 sum regions. Another early foothold: row 2, column 1 is a region of its own with target 0: that cell is a 0. The rack holds 4 blank halves, 2 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1: where to start

A one-cell region at row 1, column 3 asks for 0, which fixes that cell outright. Find the domino with a 0 that fits there.

Hint 2: first domino

The 5–0 goes there: 5 on row 2, column 3, 0 on row 1, column 3.

Hint 3: second domino

Next, the 6–0 goes at row 2, column 2 → row 2, column 1. That leaves 3 dominoes, each with far fewer homes.

Solution

Tap any cell to reveal its pips, or reveal the whole board. Region rules: 0 must add up to 0; 12 must add up to 12; 8 must add up to 8; 7 must add up to 7.

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

Medium Pips answer — September 23, 2026

3×6 board · 7 dominoes · 8 regions · by Ian Livengood

The medium Pips has 14 cells to cover with 7 dominoes, split into 8 regions. You're working with 2 sum regions, 3 "all equal", 2 "less than", 1 free region. At row 1, column 1 two cells must match. The rack holds 3 blank halves, 2 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1: where to start

A one-cell region at row 3, column 4 asks for 5, which fixes that cell outright. Find the domino with a 5 that fits there.

Hint 2: first domino

The 5–2 goes there: 5 on row 3, column 4, 2 on row 3, column 3.

Hint 3: second domino

Next, the 6–0 goes at row 1, column 1 → row 2, column 1. That leaves 5 dominoes, each with far fewer homes.

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 3; <6 must add up to less than 6; 5 must add up to 5.

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

Hard Pips answer — September 23, 2026

10×7 board · 15 dominoes · 19 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

The hard Pips has 30 cells to cover with 15 dominoes, split into 19 regions. By rule type: 7 sum regions, 5 "all equal", 3 "less than", 3 "greater than", 1 free region. Row 2, column 3 is a region of its own with target 4: that cell is a 4. Rack check: 3 doubles, 5 blank halves, 7 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1: where to start

A one-cell region at row 1, column 2 asks for 2, which fixes that cell outright. Find the domino with a 2 that fits there.

Hint 2: first domino

Place the 5–2 domino with its 5 at row 1, column 1 and its 2 at row 1, column 2.

Hint 3: second domino

Then put the 6–4 across row 3, column 3 and row 2, column 3; 13 dominoes to go.

Solution

Tap any cell to reveal its pips, or reveal the whole board. Region rules: 11 must add up to 11; 2 must add up to 2; 4 must add up to 4; 0 must add up to 0; <4 must add up to less than 4.

11
2
4
0
<4
8
=
=
5
=
=
1
<2
<3
=
>3
>0
>1
Solution as text
  1. 1–1 — 1 at row 5, column 5, 1 at row 6, column 5
  2. 6–4 — 6 at row 3, column 3, 4 at row 2, column 3
  3. 3–0 — 3 at row 2, column 7, 0 at row 2, column 6
  4. 1–6 — 1 at row 10, column 3, 6 at row 9, column 3
  5. 4–5 — 4 at row 4, column 5, 5 at row 4, column 6
  6. 0–0 — 0 at row 8, column 2, 0 at row 9, column 2
  7. 5–2 — 5 at row 1, column 1, 2 at row 1, column 2
  8. 6–0 — 6 at row 9, column 4, 0 at row 8, column 4
  9. 5–1 — 5 at row 9, column 6, 1 at row 8, column 6
  10. 6–2 — 6 at row 9, column 5, 2 at row 10, column 5
  11. 5–3 — 5 at row 4, column 1, 3 at row 5, column 1
  12. 6–6 — 6 at row 4, column 3, 6 at row 5, column 3
  13. 3–1 — 3 at row 6, column 1, 1 at row 6, column 2
  14. 0–4 — 0 at row 2, column 5, 4 at row 3, column 5
  15. 6–3 — 6 at row 2, column 1, 3 at row 3, column 1
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Pips is a game by The New York Times.