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NYT Pips answers — Monday, October 5, 2026

Easy Pips answer

3×4 · 5 dominoes · by Ian Livengood

4
9
<1
9
3
6

Pips row by row, top to bottom (· is a gap in the board)

1 3 4 5
0 6 · 3
· 3 2 4
Each domino and its squares
  1. 4–3 — 4 at row 3, column 4, 3 at row 2, column 4
  2. 4–5 — 4 at row 1, column 3, 5 at row 1, column 4
  3. 0–1 — 0 at row 2, column 1, 1 at row 1, column 1
  4. 2–3 — 2 at row 3, column 3, 3 at row 3, column 2
  5. 6–3 — 6 at row 2, column 2, 3 at row 1, column 2

Medium Pips answer

4×5 · 7 dominoes · by Rodolfo Kurchan

7
<5
4
<6
=
>4
<2
<4

Pips row by row, top to bottom (· is a gap in the board)

· · 2 4 ·
4 5 5 6 ·
3 3 3 4 6
· · 5 1 2
Each domino and its squares
  1. 5–3 — 5 at row 4, column 3, 3 at row 3, column 3
  2. 5–2 — 5 at row 2, column 3, 2 at row 1, column 3
  3. 3–3 — 3 at row 3, column 1, 3 at row 3, column 2
  4. 4–6 — 4 at row 1, column 4, 6 at row 2, column 4
  5. 1–4 — 1 at row 4, column 4, 4 at row 3, column 4
  6. 2–6 — 2 at row 4, column 5, 6 at row 3, column 5
  7. 5–4 — 5 at row 2, column 2, 4 at row 2, column 1

Hard Pips answer

6×6 · 15 dominoes · by Rodolfo Kurchan

6
1
0
=
3
8
4
6
3
1
9
6
2
1
14
2
=
2

Pips row by row, top to bottom (· is a gap in the board)

6 1 0 2 3 4
0 0 4 2 2 4
6 3 · · 0 1
3 · · · · 6
3 2 1 6 2 0
3 2 3 5 0 0
Each domino and its squares
  1. 0–1 — 0 at row 1, column 3, 1 at row 1, column 2
  2. 5–0 — 5 at row 6, column 4, 0 at row 6, column 5
  3. 6–1 — 6 at row 4, column 6, 1 at row 3, column 6
  4. 2–4 — 2 at row 2, column 4, 4 at row 2, column 3
  5. 6–3 — 6 at row 3, column 1, 3 at row 4, column 1
  6. 4–4 — 4 at row 1, column 6, 4 at row 2, column 6
  7. 2–6 — 2 at row 5, column 5, 6 at row 5, column 4
  8. 2–2 — 2 at row 5, column 2, 2 at row 6, column 2
  9. 0–6 — 0 at row 2, column 1, 6 at row 1, column 1
  10. 0–2 — 0 at row 3, column 5, 2 at row 2, column 5
  11. 3–3 — 3 at row 5, column 1, 3 at row 6, column 1
  12. 3–2 — 3 at row 1, column 5, 2 at row 1, column 4
  13. 1–3 — 1 at row 5, column 3, 3 at row 6, column 3
  14. 3–0 — 3 at row 3, column 2, 0 at row 2, column 2
  15. 0–0 — 0 at row 5, column 6, 0 at row 6, column 6

Rather solve it yourself?

Three hints per level, the last one placing the second domino.

Easy

5 dominoes, 6 regions, a 3×4 grid: that's the easy puzzle for October 5, 2026. By rule type: 5 sum regions, 1 "less than". Another early foothold: under 1 in total at row 2, column 1? That is all zeros. Rack check: 1 blank half, 1 six.

Hint 1: where to start

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

Hint 3: second domino

Then put the 0–1 across row 2, column 1 and row 1, column 1; 3 dominoes to go.

Medium

Medium today is a 4×5 board with 7 dominoes and 11 regions. By rule type: 2 sum regions, 1 "all equal", 4 "less than", 1 "greater than", 3 free regions. The "=" region starting at row 3, column 1 has 3 matching cells, all 3s. Rack check: 1 double, 2 sixes.

Hint 1: where to start

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

Hint 2: first domino

First domino: 5–4, covering row 2, column 2 (5) and row 2, column 1 (4).

Hint 3: second domino

Second: 3–3 on row 3, column 1 and row 3, column 2. Check the other 5 against the regions they could still fill.

Hard

Hard today is a 6×6 board with 15 dominoes and 18 regions. Rules on the board: 16 sum regions, 2 "all equal". Besides the opening move in Hint 1, a one-cell region at row 1, column 3 asks for 0, which fixes that cell outright. Keep in mind that the single cell at row 1, column 5 is marked 3, so it can only hold a 3. The rack holds 4 doubles, 7 blank halves, 4 sixes.

Hint 1: where to start

Row 1, column 1 is a region of its own with target 6: that cell is a 6. Only dominoes carrying a 6 can reach it.

Hint 2: first domino

The 0–6 goes there: 0 on row 2, column 1, 6 on row 1, column 1.

Hint 3: second domino

Next, the 0–1 goes at row 1, column 3 → row 1, column 2. That leaves 13 dominoes, each with far fewer homes.

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Pips #414 · Edited by Ian Livengood · Easy by Ian Livengood · Medium by Rodolfo Kurchan · Hard by Rodolfo Kurchan

Grid Puzzles · Updated October 5, 2026, 05:00 UTC · About these pages

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