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NYT Pips answers — Saturday, September 26, 2026

Pips #405 · Edited by Ian Livengood · Easy by Ian Livengood · Medium by Ian Livengood · Hard by Rodolfo Kurchan

Written by the Grid Puzzles solver, spot-checked by hand · Updated September 26, 2026, 08:32 UTC · How these pages are made

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

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

Easy Pips answer — September 26, 2026

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

Easy today is a 5×4 board with 5 dominoes and 6 regions. By rule type: 3 sum regions, 2 "all equal", 1 "greater than". Besides the opening move in Hint 1, a one-cell region at row 5, column 2 asks for 1, which fixes that cell outright. Rack check: 1 double.

Hints

Hint 1: where to start

Row 2, column 4 is a region of its own with target 1: that cell is a 1. Only dominoes carrying a 1 can reach it.

Hint 2: first domino

Place the 4–1 domino with its 4 at row 2, column 3 and its 1 at row 2, column 4.

Hint 3: second domino

Then put the 1–3 across row 5, column 2 and row 4, column 2; 3 dominoes to go.

Solution

Tap any cell to reveal its pips, or reveal the whole board. Region rules: >3 must add up to more than 3; = must all be the same number; 1 must add up to 1; 8 must add up to 8.

>3
=
=
1
8
1
Solution as text
  1. 4–1 — 4 at row 2, column 3, 1 at row 2, column 4
  2. 2–4 — 2 at row 2, column 2, 4 at row 1, column 2
  3. 2–2 — 2 at row 2, column 1, 2 at row 3, column 1
  4. 1–3 — 1 at row 5, column 2, 3 at row 4, column 2
  5. 4–5 — 4 at row 3, column 3, 5 at row 4, column 3

Medium Pips answer — September 26, 2026

5×6 board · 8 dominoes · 9 regions · by Ian Livengood

Medium is 9 regions on a 5×6 grid, filled by 8 dominoes. You're working with 4 sum regions, 2 "all equal", 2 "greater than", 1 free region. Besides the opening move in Hint 1, only a 6 beats 5, so the lone cell at row 4, column 6 is a 6. The rack holds 2 doubles, 1 blank half, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1: where to start

A one-cell region at row 3, column 1 asks for 4, which fixes that cell outright. Only dominoes carrying a 4 can reach it.

Hint 2: first domino

The 4–5 goes there: 4 on row 3, column 1, 5 on row 4, column 1.

Hint 3: second domino

Next, the 6–3 goes at row 4, column 6 → row 3, column 6. That leaves 6 dominoes, each with far fewer homes.

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; 4 must add up to 4; = must all be the same number; >3 must add up to more than 3.

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

Hard Pips answer — September 26, 2026

6×6 board · 16 dominoes · 32 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

Hard is 32 regions on a 6×6 grid, filled by 16 dominoes. You're working with 29 sum regions, 3 free regions. Row 1, column 3 is a region of its own with target 2: that cell is a 2. The rack holds 5 blank halves, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1: where to start

A one-cell region at row 1, column 2 asks for 5, which fixes that cell outright. Only dominoes carrying a 5 can reach it.

Hint 2: first domino

First domino: 3–5, covering row 2, column 2 (3) and row 1, column 2 (5).

Hint 3: second domino

Second: 0–2 on row 1, column 4 and row 1, column 3. Check the other 14 against the regions they could still fill.

Solution

Tap any cell to reveal its pips, or reveal the whole board. Region rules: 5 must add up to 5; 2 must add up to 2; 0 must add up to 0; 4 must add up to 4; 3 must add up to 3.

5
2
0
5
4
3
4
5
1
0
4
2
1
5
3
0
3
3
3
0
2
4
4
1
2
2
5
1
0
Solution as text
  1. 0–1 — 0 at row 6, column 5, 1 at row 6, column 4
  2. 0–2 — 0 at row 1, column 4, 2 at row 1, column 3
  3. 0–3 — 0 at row 5, column 1, 3 at row 4, column 1
  4. 0–4 — 0 at row 4, column 3, 4 at row 3, column 3
  5. 0–5 — 0 at row 2, column 6, 5 at row 3, column 6
  6. 1–2 — 1 at row 3, column 5, 2 at row 3, column 4
  7. 1–3 — 1 at row 5, column 5, 3 at row 4, column 5
  8. 1–4 — 1 at row 3, column 1, 4 at row 2, column 1
  9. 1–5 — 1 at row 2, column 5, 5 at row 1, column 5
  10. 2–3 — 2 at row 5, column 6, 3 at row 4, column 6
  11. 2–4 — 2 at row 5, column 2, 4 at row 5, column 3
  12. 2–5 — 2 at row 6, column 2, 5 at row 6, column 3
  13. 3–4 — 3 at row 4, column 4, 4 at row 5, column 4
  14. 3–5 — 3 at row 2, column 2, 5 at row 1, column 2
  15. 4–5 — 4 at row 2, column 3, 5 at row 2, column 4
  16. 3–6 — 3 at row 4, column 2, 6 at row 3, column 2
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Pips is a game by The New York Times. This page is an independent solving guide and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by The New York Times Company. Puzzle layouts are described here for the purpose of commentary and help.