MorningHint
NYT Pips · Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Pips Hint Today — September 30

Clues for the easy, medium and hard puzzles, from a gentle nudge to one domino placed, then the solved grid. Open only what you need — everything stays hidden until you tap it.

Jump to: Easy · Medium · Hard

Easy Pips hints

1Board size and rulesTap to reveal

5 dominoes cover 10 cells. The board has 6 regions: 3 exact total, 1 all equal, plus 2 free cells that take any value.

2Where to startTap to reveal

Start with the 2-cell region that adds up to 1. Only 1 set of pip values can fill it, so it pins down which dominoes can touch it.

3What each region holdsTap to reveal

What every ruled region ends up holding (positions not given):

  • 2-cell region that adds up to 1: 0, 1
  • single-cell region that adds up to 1: 1
  • 2-cell region that adds up to 10: 5, 5
  • 3-cell region where every pip count is equal: 6, 6, 6
4One domino placedTap to reveal

The 6–0 domino: its 6 sits in the 3-cell region where every pip count is equal and its 0 in the 2-cell region that adds up to 1.

Show the solved easy grid

Pip counts row by row (· = no cell):

· · · 1 3
· 6 0 1 5
6 6 · 4 5

Where each domino goes:

  • 6–0: 3-cell region where every pip count is equal / 2-cell region that adds up to 1
  • 1–3: single-cell region that adds up to 1 / free cell (any value) (one of 2 alike)
  • 5–4: 2-cell region that adds up to 10 / free cell (any value) (one of 2 alike)
  • 5–1: 2-cell region that adds up to 10 / 2-cell region that adds up to 1
  • 6–6: 3-cell region where every pip count is equal

Medium Pips hints

1Board size and rulesTap to reveal

7 dominoes cover 14 cells. The board has 6 regions: 2 exact total, 2 less than, 1 all different, 1 all equal.

2Where to startTap to reveal

Start with the single-cell region that adds up to 2. Only 1 set of pip values can fill it, so it pins down which dominoes can touch it.

3What each region holdsTap to reveal

What every ruled region ends up holding (positions not given):

  • single-cell region that adds up to 2: 2
  • single-cell region that totals less than 2: 1
  • 3-cell region that adds up to 11: 3, 3, 5
  • 3-cell region where every pip count is equal: 2, 2, 2
  • 3-cell region that totals less than 8: 1, 2, 4
  • 3-cell region where no two pip counts match: 4, 5, 6
4One domino placedTap to reveal

The 2–3 domino: its 2 sits in the single-cell region that adds up to 2 and its 3 in the 3-cell region that adds up to 11.

Show the solved medium grid

Pip counts row by row (· = no cell):

5 1 6 4 ·
3 4 5 2 1
3 2 2 · ·
· 2 2 · ·

Where each domino goes:

  • 1–4: single-cell region that totals less than 2 / 3-cell region where no two pip counts match
  • 2–5: 3-cell region where every pip count is equal / 3-cell region where no two pip counts match
  • 2–2: 3-cell region where every pip count is equal
  • 5–3: 3-cell region that adds up to 11
  • 6–4: 3-cell region where no two pip counts match / 3-cell region that totals less than 8
  • 2–3: single-cell region that adds up to 2 / 3-cell region that adds up to 11
  • 2–1: 3-cell region that totals less than 8

Hard Pips hints

1Board size and rulesTap to reveal

15 dominoes cover 30 cells. The board has 15 regions: 7 exact total, 2 all equal, 2 more than, 1 less than, 1 all different, plus 2 free cells that take any value.

2Where to startTap to reveal

Start with the single-cell region that totals less than 1. Only 1 set of pip values can fill it, so it pins down which dominoes can touch it.

3What each region holdsTap to reveal

What every ruled region ends up holding (positions not given):

  • single-cell region that totals less than 1: 0
  • single-cell region that adds up to 2: 2
  • 4-cell region that adds up to 22: 4, 6, 6, 6
  • 2-cell region that adds up to 2: 1, 1
  • 2-cell region that adds up to 9 (one of 2 alike): 4, 5
  • 2-cell region that adds up to 9 (one of 2 alike): 4, 5
  • single-cell region that totals more than 4 (one of 2 alike): 5
  • single-cell region that totals more than 4 (one of 2 alike): 5
  • 3-cell region that adds up to 3: 0, 0, 3
  • 2-cell region that adds up to 6: 2, 4
  • 4-cell region where every pip count is equal: 2, 2, 2, 2
  • 3-cell region where every pip count is equal: 4, 4, 4
  • 2-cell region where no two pip counts match: 1, 3
4One domino placedTap to reveal

The 4–0 domino: its 4 sits in the 2-cell region that adds up to 9 (one of 2 alike) and its 0 in the single-cell region that totals less than 1.

Show the solved hard grid

Pip counts row by row (· = no cell):

4 2 4 3 0 0
4 4 1 · 4 6
4 5 1 · 6 6
4 0 · · 5 2
5 · · 5 2 2
4 3 1 3 2 2

Where each domino goes:

  • 0–0: 3-cell region that adds up to 3
  • 4–1: 3-cell region where every pip count is equal / 2-cell region that adds up to 2
  • 3–2: 2-cell region where no two pip counts match / single-cell region that adds up to 2
  • 2–6: 4-cell region where every pip count is equal / 4-cell region that adds up to 22
  • 4–5: free cell (any value) (one of 2 alike) / 2-cell region that adds up to 9 (one of 2 alike)
  • 4–0: 2-cell region that adds up to 9 (one of 2 alike) / single-cell region that totals less than 1
  • 1–5: 2-cell region that adds up to 2 / 2-cell region that adds up to 9 (one of 2 alike)
  • 2–4: 2-cell region that adds up to 6 / 3-cell region where every pip count is equal
  • 3–4: 3-cell region that adds up to 3 / 2-cell region that adds up to 6
  • 4–6: 4-cell region that adds up to 22
  • 3–1: free cell (any value) (one of 2 alike) / 2-cell region where no two pip counts match
  • 2–2: 4-cell region where every pip count is equal
  • 2–5: 4-cell region where every pip count is equal / single-cell region that totals more than 4 (one of 2 alike)
  • 4–4: 3-cell region where every pip count is equal / 2-cell region that adds up to 9 (one of 2 alike)
  • 5–6: single-cell region that totals more than 4 (one of 2 alike) / 4-cell region that adds up to 22

How Pips works

Pips gives you a small board split into coloured regions and a set of dominoes. Every domino has to go on the board, each one covering two neighbouring cells, and when you are done every cell is covered. The number of pips on each half of a domino is what counts. A region may ask for an exact total, a total below or above a number, every value the same, or every value different; some cells carry no rule at all. There are three puzzles each day, easy, medium and hard, and the hard one usually has the most dominoes and the most regions.

Getting unstuck

Begin where the choices are fewest. A single cell that must add up to a number is fixed outright, and a small region with a very high or very low total can only be filled in one or two ways. Those regions decide which dominoes are left for everything else.

Count the doubles. An all-equal region of two cells that sit side by side can be covered by one double domino. If the set only has one or two doubles, they usually belong in those regions.

Track what is left. Every domino is used exactly once, so each placement shrinks the options elsewhere. When the easy regions are done, the remaining dominoes often have only one legal home.

Watch the free cells. Cells without a rule accept any value, which makes them the natural place for the awkward leftover halves.

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