NYT Pips answers — Friday, October 16, 2026
The NYT Pips answers for Friday, October 16, 2026: the solved easy, medium and hard boards are below, with the squares of every domino listed and three hints per level if you would rather solve it yourself.
Easy Pips answer
Pips row by row, top to bottom (· is a gap in the board)
· · · 1 · · 3 2 · 5 5 · 4 4 · · 4 4 6 ·
Each domino and its squares
- 3–5 — 3 at row 2, column 3, 5 at row 3, column 3
- 5–4 — 5 at row 3, column 2, 4 at row 4, column 2
- 6–4 — 6 at row 5, column 3, 4 at row 5, column 2
- 4–4 — 4 at row 4, column 1, 4 at row 5, column 1
- 2–1 — 2 at row 2, column 4, 1 at row 1, column 4
Medium Pips answer
Pips row by row, top to bottom (· is a gap in the board)
· · · 0 · · 4 2 1 4 1 5 5 5 5 0 4 · 3 0
Each domino and its squares
- 1–5 — 1 at row 3, column 1, 5 at row 3, column 2
- 5–4 — 5 at row 3, column 5, 4 at row 2, column 5
- 4–2 — 4 at row 2, column 2, 2 at row 2, column 3
- 5–5 — 5 at row 3, column 3, 5 at row 3, column 4
- 0–3 — 0 at row 4, column 5, 3 at row 4, column 4
- 4–0 — 4 at row 4, column 2, 0 at row 4, column 1
- 1–0 — 1 at row 2, column 4, 0 at row 1, column 4
Hard Pips answer
Pips row by row, top to bottom (· is a gap in the board)
2 4 · 0 · · 3 1 6 · 0 1 · 2 5 2 · 0 1 3 4 1 4 · 3 · 5 5 1 1 · 4 · · 5 0 2 · 3 · · 5
Each domino and its squares
- 5–5 — 5 at row 5, column 7, 5 at row 6, column 7
- 4–3 — 4 at row 5, column 4, 3 at row 6, column 4
- 3–2 — 3 at row 1, column 7, 2 at row 2, column 7
- 0–1 — 0 at row 6, column 1, 1 at row 5, column 1
- 1–2 — 1 at row 5, column 2, 2 at row 6, column 2
- 4–5 — 4 at row 3, column 7, 5 at row 4, column 7
- 2–6 — 2 at row 3, column 2, 6 at row 2, column 2
- 1–5 — 1 at row 2, column 1, 5 at row 3, column 1
- 1–1 — 1 at row 2, column 5, 1 at row 3, column 5
- 0–0 — 0 at row 1, column 4, 0 at row 2, column 4
- 3–0 — 3 at row 4, column 4, 0 at row 3, column 4
- 4–1 — 4 at row 4, column 2, 1 at row 4, column 1
- 3–5 — 3 at row 3, column 6, 5 at row 4, column 6
- 2–4 — 2 at row 1, column 1, 4 at row 1, column 2
Rather solve it yourself?
Three hints per level, the last one placing the second domino.
Easy
5 dominoes, 5 regions, a 5×4 grid: that's the easy puzzle for October 16, 2026. By rule type: 1 sum region, 2 "all equal", 1 "greater than", 1 free region. Besides the opening move in Hint 1, at row 3, column 2 two cells must match. Rack check: 1 double, 1 six.
Hint 1: where to start
4 cells from row 4, column 1 must show the same number, and it turns out to be 4. Count how many halves of that number the rack has.
Hint 2: first domino
The 4–4 goes there: 4 on row 4, column 1, 4 on row 5, column 1.
Hint 3: second domino
Next, the 5–4 goes at row 3, column 2 → row 4, column 2. That leaves 3 dominoes, each with far fewer homes.
Medium
The medium board runs 4 rows by 5 columns: 7 dominoes to place across 10 regions. By rule type: 2 sum regions, 2 "less than", 4 "greater than", 2 free regions. Besides the opening move in Hint 1, under 1 in total at row 1, column 4? That is all zeros. Rack check: 1 double, 3 blank halves.
Hint 1: where to start
The two-cell region at row 3, column 1 adds to 1: the only split is 0 + 1.
Hint 2: first domino
The 1–5 goes there: 1 on row 3, column 1, 5 on row 3, column 2.
Hint 3: second domino
Next, the 1–0 goes at row 2, column 4 → row 1, column 4. That leaves 5 dominoes, each with far fewer homes.
Hard
The hard Pips has 28 cells to cover with 14 dominoes, split into 17 regions. Rules on the board: 8 sum regions, 2 "all equal", 2 "greater than", 4 free regions. Another early foothold: row 2, column 1 is a region of its own with target 1: that cell is a 1. Keep in mind that the single cell at row 2, column 2 is marked 6, so it can only hold a 6. The rack holds 3 doubles, 4 blank halves, 1 six.
Hint 1: where to start
The single cell at row 1, column 2 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 2–4 domino with its 2 at row 1, column 1 and its 4 at row 1, column 2.
Hint 3: second domino
Then put the 1–5 across row 2, column 1 and row 3, column 1; 12 dominoes to go.