NYT Pips answers — Thursday, October 29, 2026
The NYT Pips answers for Thursday, October 29, 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 5 · 5 · · 1 4 0 4 6 · 3 6 ·
Each domino and its squares
- 0–4 — 0 at row 3, column 2, 4 at row 3, column 3
- 0–5 — 0 at row 1, column 2, 5 at row 1, column 3
- 4–5 — 4 at row 3, column 1, 5 at row 2, column 1
- 3–6 — 3 at row 4, column 2, 6 at row 4, column 3
- 1–6 — 1 at row 2, column 4, 6 at row 3, column 4
Medium Pips answer
Pips row by row, top to bottom (· is a gap in the board)
6 · · · 1 4 6 3 0 6 6 5 2 2 6 0 · 1 · ·
Each domino and its squares
- 6–3 — 6 at row 2, column 3, 3 at row 2, column 4
- 5–0 — 5 at row 3, column 4, 0 at row 4, column 4
- 6–6 — 6 at row 3, column 3, 6 at row 4, column 3
- 1–6 — 1 at row 2, column 1, 6 at row 1, column 1
- 2–0 — 2 at row 4, column 1, 0 at row 3, column 1
- 1–2 — 1 at row 5, column 2, 2 at row 4, column 2
- 6–4 — 6 at row 3, column 2, 4 at row 2, column 2
Hard Pips answer
Pips row by row, top to bottom (· is a gap in the board)
· · · · · · 0 4 · · · · · · 2 4 0 6 1 3 5 · · · 6 2 · 5 · 1 3 · · 6 · · · · 5 4 3 6 6 · · · · 0 2 3 3 · · · · · · 0 · · · · · · · · 3 · · · · · · · · 0 1 · · · ·
Each domino and its squares
- 0–3 — 0 at row 7, column 4, 3 at row 8, column 4
- 6–0 — 6 at row 2, column 9, 0 at row 2, column 8
- 3–2 — 3 at row 6, column 5, 2 at row 6, column 4
- 4–3 — 4 at row 5, column 4, 3 at row 5, column 5
- 6–6 — 6 at row 4, column 7, 6 at row 5, column 7
- 0–1 — 0 at row 9, column 4, 1 at row 9, column 5
- 0–5 — 0 at row 6, column 3, 5 at row 5, column 3
- 1–5 — 1 at row 3, column 1, 5 at row 4, column 1
- 2–6 — 2 at row 3, column 8, 6 at row 3, column 7
- 3–6 — 3 at row 6, column 6, 6 at row 5, column 6
- 3–5 — 3 at row 3, column 2, 5 at row 3, column 3
- 2–4 — 2 at row 2, column 6, 4 at row 2, column 7
- 1–3 — 1 at row 4, column 3, 3 at row 4, column 4
- 4–0 — 4 at row 1, column 8, 0 at row 1, column 7
Rather solve it yourself?
Three hints per level, the last one placing the second domino.
Easy
Easy today is a 4×4 board with 5 dominoes and 9 regions. You're working with 1 sum region, 3 "less than", 2 "greater than", 3 free regions. The "<1" region at row 1, column 2 leaves almost no room: every cell must be 0. The rack holds 2 blank halves, 2 sixes.
Hint 1: where to start
The single cell marked ">5" at row 4, column 3 must be a 6.
Hint 2: first domino
First domino: 3–6, covering row 4, column 2 (3) and row 4, column 3 (6).
Hint 3: second domino
Second: 0–5 on row 1, column 2 and row 1, column 3. Check the other 3 against the regions they could still fill.
Medium
Medium today is a 5×4 board with 7 dominoes and 8 regions. Rules on the board: 1 sum region, 1 "all equal", 2 "less than", 1 "greater than", 3 free regions. Besides the opening move in Hint 1, the "<1" region at row 4, column 4 leaves almost no room: every cell must be 0. Rack check: 1 double, 2 blank halves, 5 sixes.
Hint 1: where to start
The long "all equal" region at row 2, column 3 (4 cells) takes one number throughout. Count how many halves of that number the rack has.
Hint 2: first domino
The 6–3 goes there: 6 on row 2, column 3, 3 on row 2, column 4.
Hint 3: second domino
Next, the 5–0 goes at row 3, column 4 → row 4, column 4. That leaves 5 dominoes, each with far fewer homes.
Hard
14 dominoes, 14 regions, a 9×9 grid: that's the hard puzzle for October 29, 2026. The mix is 5 sum regions, 2 "all equal", 1 "less than", 3 "greater than", 2 free regions. Besides the opening move in Hint 1, row 6, column 4 is a region of its own with target 2: that cell is a 2. Keep in mind that the long "all equal" region at row 3, column 7 (4 cells) takes one number throughout. Rack check: 1 double, 5 blank halves, 5 sixes.
Hint 1: where to start
A one-cell region at row 2, column 9 asks for 6, which fixes that cell outright. Find the domino with a 6 that fits there.
Hint 2: first domino
First domino: 6–0, covering row 2, column 9 (6) and row 2, column 8 (0).
Hint 3: second domino
Second: 3–2 on row 6, column 5 and row 6, column 4. Check the other 12 against the regions they could still fill.