Pips

What is NYT Pips?

Pips is a domino puzzle from The New York Times. You get a small set of dominoes and a board split into coloured regions, each with a condition. One region might need its pips to add up to a certain number, another might need every number in it to be the same, and another to be all different. Your task is to place every domino so all the conditions are met at once. Because each domino covers two squares, often in two different regions, every placement affects its neighbours, and that is where the real puzzle lies. There are usually several difficulty levels each day, so you can start easy and work your way up. Launched in 2025, Pips is free to play and a refreshing change for people who like number puzzles but feel they have seen every kind of sudoku already.

How to play

1. Drag each domino onto the board. You can rotate it.
2. Every region has a rule, such as a target sum or all-equal numbers.
3. The puzzle is solved when all dominoes are placed and every rule is met.

Quick facts

Typical time

2–10 min · depending on the level

Difficulty

Easy to hard · you choose

Price

Free.

Account

Not needed. A free New York Times account keeps your stats and streak across devices.

Past puzzles

No. The Times keeps archives for its word games and crosswords, but not for this one.

On a phone

In the browser, or in the NYT Games app for iPhone and Android.

Levels

Three puzzles a day: easy, medium and hard.

Tips to get better

• Start with the tightest region. A single square with an exact value, a region that has to add up to zero, or one that needs a very high total can only take a few dominoes. Place those first.
• Study your dominoes. You can only use the ones you're given, once each. If a region needs a six and only two of your dominoes have one, you already know a lot.
• Think about the other half. A domino covers two squares, often in two different regions. Before you place it for one rule, check what its other end does next door.
• Use the shape of the board. Where the board narrows to one square wide, a domino can only lie one way. Stubs and corners tell you the direction before you know the numbers.
• Keep the free squares for last. Squares with no rule accept anything. Leave them empty and drop your awkward leftovers there at the end.
• Work up through the levels. Easy teaches you the kinds of rule. Hard uses the same reasoning with more steps.

Who it's for

Try Pips if you like number logic but feel you've seen every sudoku. It's fresh, the three levels mean there's a puzzle for any mood, and it's free. The hard level can involve some trial and error, which purists may find untidy. Dragging small dominoes around is also fiddlier on a phone than on a bigger screen.