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September 3, 2026 has three separate Pips puzzles: easy #1220, medium #1232 and hard #1243. They are different boards, not three hint levels for one puzzle.
How to play Pips
Pips is a domino-placement logic puzzle. Cover every board cell with the supplied dominoes, use each tile exactly once, and satisfy the rule shown in each connected region. A region may require a specific total, a total above or below a threshold, equal values, or pairwise different values. NYT tile values run from 0 through 6, according to a 2026 paper describing the game.
The paper also proves that deciding whether a generalized Pips puzzle has a solution is NP-complete. That result concerns the generalized mathematical problem; it does not mean a regular daily board is impractical for a person to solve.
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Spoiler-safe hints
Easy #1220
The single-cell region totaling 2 must contain a 2. The single cell with a value greater than 5 must contain a 6.
Medium #1232
In the two-cell region totaling 1, the values must be 0 and 1. The tray includes doubles 6-6, 0-0 and 5-5, which can help identify the equality regions.
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Hard #1243
Start with the single-cell region totaling 4: that cell must be 4. The two-cell region greater than 9 contains 6 and 6, and a two-cell equality region contains 3 and 3. These are partial clues, not a full solution.
Easy solution
Region checks
- The two-cell sum-10 region contains 5 and 5.
- The three-cell sum-10 region contains 4, 3 and 3.
- The three-cell sum-2 region contains 0, 2 and 0.
- The single-cell sum-2 region contains 2.
- The single cell greater than 5 contains 6.
Tile placements
Coordinates count rows and columns from the top-left, beginning at 1. Each entry gives the domino values and the cells it covers.
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- 3-0: row 3, columns 4 and 3.
- 0-5: row 2, column 2, and row 1, column 2.
- 4-5: row 1, columns 4 and 3.
- 3-2: row 2, columns 4 and 5.
- 2-6: row 3, columns 2 and 1.
Medium solution
Region checks
- Two-cell region less than 5: 0 and 0.
- Equality region: 6 and 6.
- Two-cell sum-7 region: 4 and 3.
- Two-cell sum-1 region: 0 and 1.
- Three-cell region greater than 1: 5, 5 and 5.
- Second equality region: 6 and 6.
- Single-cell region less than 3: 0.
Tile placements
Coordinates count rows and columns from the top-left, beginning at 1.
- 0-3: row 2, column 4, and row 1, column 4.
- 6-6: row 2, column 2, and row 3, column 2.
- 0-5: row 4, columns 3 and 2.
- 4-6: row 1, columns 3 and 2.
- 0-0: row 1, column 1, and row 2, column 1.
- 6-1: row 3, columns 3 and 4.
- 5-5: row 3, column 1, and row 4, column 1.
What is verified for the hard board?
The hard board is puzzle #1243. Its archive listing describes 14 dominoes and 17 regions; another guide describes it as a 28-square board. The verifiable answer details are limited to the forced single-cell 4, a two-cell greater-than-9 region containing 6-6, and an equality region containing 3-3. The available readable placement information does not establish every tile’s position, so a complete hard-board layout cannot be given reliably.
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How the three boards compare
| Board | Puzzle ID | Dominoes | Regions | Constraint mix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | #1220 | 5 | 5 | Sum rules and a greater-than rule |
| Medium | #1232 | 7 | 7 | Sum, equality, less-than and greater-than rules |
| Hard | #1243 | 14 | 17 | A larger mix of region constraints |
The counts and board descriptions are from NYT Game Solver’s archive; its extracted page text does not provide all the hard-board placements. EnergyPips gives the readable easy and medium coordinates and identifies itself as independent of NYT.
Quick Recap
Best Value
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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