NYT Pips answers — Wednesday, October 21, 2026
The NYT Pips answers for Wednesday, October 21, 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)
0 4 · · 6 6 · 6 3 2 4 · · · 1 0 · ·
Each domino and its squares
- 3–6 — 3 at row 2, column 3, 6 at row 2, column 2
- 2–4 — 2 at row 2, column 4, 4 at row 2, column 5
- 1–0 — 1 at row 3, column 3, 0 at row 3, column 4
- 6–6 — 6 at row 1, column 5, 6 at row 1, column 6
- 4–0 — 4 at row 1, column 2, 0 at row 1, column 1
Medium Pips answer
Pips row by row, top to bottom (· is a gap in the board)
· 5 2 1 1 5 1 0 1 · 3 4 2 6 · · · 4 4 ·
Each domino and its squares
- 2–6 — 2 at row 3, column 3, 6 at row 3, column 4
- 1–1 — 1 at row 1, column 4, 1 at row 1, column 5
- 3–4 — 3 at row 3, column 1, 4 at row 3, column 2
- 1–5 — 1 at row 2, column 2, 5 at row 2, column 1
- 4–4 — 4 at row 4, column 3, 4 at row 4, column 4
- 1–0 — 1 at row 2, column 4, 0 at row 2, column 3
- 2–5 — 2 at row 1, column 3, 5 at row 1, column 2
Hard Pips answer
Pips row by row, top to bottom (· is a gap in the board)
2 · · 4 · 4 4 5 2 2 2 · 1 · 4 · · 5 5 0 0 4 · 5 · · 3 5 · 3 6 · 4 2 3 4 1 · · 0 · 1 · · 1 2 · · 0 · 3 · · 5
Each domino and its squares
- 4–3 — 4 at row 4, column 9, 3 at row 4, column 8
- 4–4 — 4 at row 1, column 6, 4 at row 1, column 7
- 2–2 — 2 at row 1, column 1, 2 at row 2, column 1
- 1–3 — 1 at row 5, column 6, 3 at row 6, column 6
- 2–0 — 2 at row 2, column 2, 0 at row 3, column 2
- 4–0 — 4 at row 3, column 4, 0 at row 3, column 3
- 1–4 — 1 at row 2, column 4, 4 at row 1, column 4
- 2–4 — 2 at row 4, column 7, 4 at row 4, column 6
- 3–5 — 3 at row 3, column 9, 5 at row 2, column 9
- 0–0 — 0 at row 5, column 4, 0 at row 6, column 4
- 5–4 — 5 at row 3, column 6, 4 at row 2, column 6
- 2–1 — 2 at row 6, column 1, 1 at row 5, column 1
- 1–5 — 1 at row 5, column 9, 5 at row 6, column 9
- 5–5 — 5 at row 3, column 1, 5 at row 4, column 1
- 2–5 — 2 at row 1, column 9, 5 at row 1, column 8
- 3–6 — 3 at row 4, column 3, 6 at row 4, column 4
Rather solve it yourself?
Three hints per level, the last one placing the second domino.
Easy
The easy board runs 3 rows by 6 columns: 5 dominoes to place across 7 regions. You're working with 3 sum regions, 1 "less than", 1 "greater than", 2 free regions. Besides the opening move in Hint 1, two cells at row 1, column 2 total 10. The rack holds 1 double, 2 blank halves, 3 sixes.
Hint 1: where to start
The "<1" region at row 3, column 4 leaves almost no room: every cell must be 0.
Hint 2: first domino
The 1–0 goes there: 1 on row 3, column 3, 0 on row 3, column 4.
Hint 3: second domino
Next, the 4–0 goes at row 1, column 2 → row 1, column 1. That leaves 3 dominoes, each with far fewer homes.
Medium
7 dominoes, 8 regions, a 4×5 grid: that's the medium puzzle for October 21, 2026. You're working with 2 sum regions, 1 "all equal", 3 "greater than", 1 free region. Another early foothold: the "=" pair at row 1, column 4 needs two identical pips. The rack holds 2 doubles, 1 blank half, 1 six.
Hint 1: where to start
The single cell at row 3, column 4 is marked 6, so it can only hold a 6. Only dominoes carrying a 6 can reach it.
Hint 2: first domino
First domino: 2–6, covering row 3, column 3 (2) and row 3, column 4 (6).
Hint 3: second domino
Second: 1–1 on row 1, column 4 and row 1, column 5. Check the other 5 against the regions they could still fill.
Hard
Hard is 22 regions on a 6×9 grid, filled by 16 dominoes. By rule type: 13 sum regions, 2 "all equal", 2 "less than", 3 "greater than", 1 free region. Row 2, column 1 is a region of its own with target 2: that cell is a 2. Rack check: 4 doubles, 4 blank halves, 1 six.
Hint 1: where to start
A one-cell region at row 1, column 8 asks for 5, which fixes that cell outright. Only dominoes carrying a 5 can reach it.
Hint 2: first domino
The 2–5 goes there: 2 on row 1, column 9, 5 on row 1, column 8.
Hint 3: second domino
Next, the 2–2 goes at row 1, column 1 → row 2, column 1. That leaves 14 dominoes, each with far fewer homes.