NYT Pips

Try today’s puzzle before reading the answers

Three difficulty levels reset at midnight. Solve Easy first to warm up your zone-reading instincts before tackling Hard.

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Key Takeaways

  • Difficulty Today rates 7/10 overall. Easy plays as a quick five-piece warm-up; Medium hinges on a single forced double; Hard concentrates the puzzle complexity on the left board equal-pips zone.
  • Easy anchor The 4|4 double fits only the equal-pair zone in column two. Place it first and the remaining four pieces fall in sequence.
  • Medium order Solve the purple zone in column one first. It forces 0|0 as the only double that satisfies equal-zero, and the 5|6 bridge below it unlocks the rest of the grid.
  • Hard approach Start by sorting which doubles fit the purple equal zone on the left board. The 0|0 and 2|2 anchor that constraint and the rest of the placements cascade from there.
  • High doubles 5|5 and 6|6 have the fewest legal positions on greater-than constraints. Place them before any lower-value pieces touch the board.

Today’s NYT Pips: Monday, April 27, 2026

Monday’s NYT Pips lands at a 7 out of 10 on the difficulty scale. Easy plays as a quick warm-up with five forced placements, Medium tightens the constraints with a key 0|0 anchor in the purple zone, and Hard pushes the equal-pips condition on the left board into the spotlight. Hints follow below; the full answer grids sit at the bottom of the page.

Hints (spoiler-free)

  • Easy One zone accepts only the forced double on the right side. Lock that anchor first, then the columns resolve in sequence.
  • Medium A forced double anchors the purple zone in the leftmost column. Place that piece before scanning the grid for the next forced placement.
  • Hard The left board’s equal-pips zone forces specific double placements. Identify which doubles fit there before committing any other piece.

Easy Pips Walkthrough: April 27

Anchor the 4|4 double in the second column where the equal constraint forces a matched pair. Once that piece is locked, the 6|1 fills the leftmost column and the 3|3 falls into the orange equal zone of row two. The 4|1 then bridges the dark blue and white cells of the same row, and the 6|5 closes the pink and white pair on the right edge.

Medium Pips Walkthrough: April 27

Begin with 0|0 in the purple zone of column one. It is the only double that satisfies the equal-zero constraint there. The 5|6 then bridges the dark blue and purple cells below it. From there, 4|6 fills column four and 1|0 closes the green and pink pair on the right edge. The 2|4, 1|4, 3|3, and 6|1 resolve in the remaining rows, with 3|3 forced into the green equal zone.

Hard Pips Walkthrough: April 27

Start by identifying which doubles fit the purple equal zone on the left board. The 0|0 and 2|2 anchor that constraint. Then place 5|5 horizontally in the pink row-one zone. The 5|4 satisfies the pink greater-than-four zone, with 4 feeding the orange greater-than-three zone below. Only 6|6, summing to twelve, fits the pink greater-than-ten constraint. Place 4|0 vertically into the teal zone, then 3|0 horizontally bridges teal and purple. The remaining 3|4, 3|1, 5|1, 3|2, and 5|6 resolve in the rightmost columns.

Quick Strategy Recap

The strongest approach today is to identify the most constrained zones first and find which doubles or single-value pieces are forced into them. Equal-pips zones almost always force a specific double, so scan for those before placing anything else. High doubles like 5|5 and 6|6 have the fewest legal positions on greater-than constraints, making them the next piece type to lock. Then build outward from the anchored zones, working column by column toward the open edges.

What are today’s NYT Pips answers?

Today’s Pips answers for Monday, April 27, 2026: Easy is 6|1, 4|4, 3|3, 4|1, 6|5. Medium is 0|0, 5|6, 4|6, 1|0, 2|4, 1|4, 3|3, 6|1. Hard is 3|4, 5|5, 3|0, 0|0, 2|2, 5|4, 6|6, 4|0, 3|1, 5|1, 3|2, 5|6.

How hard is today’s NYT Pips?

Today’s puzzle rates 7 out of 10. Easy plays quickly with five forced placements. Medium tightens with a key 0|0 anchor in the purple zone. Hard concentrates the difficulty on the equal-pips zone of the left board.

What is the best strategy for NYT Pips?

Identify the most constrained zones first. Equal-pips zones almost always force a specific double, so place those before anything else. Then handle high doubles like 5|5 and 6|6, since they fit the fewest greater-than constraints. Build outward from anchored zones.

Can one domino span two regions?

Yes. Each half of the domino satisfies the rule for its own region. Cross-zone bridging is essential to solving Hard boards because many constraint zones share borders that force mixed-value placements.

When does NYT Pips reset?

NYT Pips resets at midnight local time. All three difficulty levels (Easy, Medium, and Hard) refresh simultaneously with new boards and new constraint configurations.

Missed yesterday? The April 26, 2026 Pips walkthrough covers the Sunday boards. Full domino rules and strategy at how to play NYT Pips.

Yesterday’s Pips: Sunday, April 26, 2026 →

Games History

Showing 1-6 of 7

Easy: 5|5 anchored the purple number-nine zone with 4|2 completing it; 6|6 and 6|1 filled the red equal-six zone; 4|2 and 0|1 closed light blue number-two; 6|1 and 0|1 closed yellow equal-one.

Medium: 0|2 and 4|6 took the purple number-six zone; 5|2 and 5|1 anchored red number-ten; 4|6 covered light blue number-six; 3|1 with 3|5 took dark blue, and the second purple closed with 3|1 and 1|4.

Hard: Purple equal zone forced 2|2, 2|6, and 1|2; light blue equal-six absorbed 6|1, 6|0, 6|3, and 6|6; green number-seven took 4|0 and 6|3; right-side equal zones closed with 1|0, 1|5, and 2|5.

Easy: 3|5 anchored the first column; 2|0 and 0|3 filled the equal zones across row 1; 5|0 and 1|3 closed row 2.

Medium: 5|5 forced its Number (7) zone first; 3|3 anchored an equal zone; 3|1 and 1|1 filled the remaining Number (7) cells; 0|1, 5|2, 3|2, 6|3 closed by elimination.

Hard: Edge-first across 16 pieces; 0|6 in teal/green opened the board; 1|6 spanned orange/purple; 2|6 then 2|4 resolved navy; interior closed with 0|0, 1|1, 1|3, 6|4, 4|1, 0|2, 2|1, 1|5, 5|0, 0|1.

Answers archived.

Easy: 3|3 anchors the Equal zone; 4|3 and 6|3 fill the Number sections by shared pip value; 5|1 and 0|1 close the final two cells.

Medium: Equal zones force 3|3 and 4|4 first; 6|4 bridges the Number zone boundary; 5|3, 4|3, and 2|4 resolve by elimination; 3|1 and 1|1 close the Less Than sections.

Hard: 6|6 and 5|6 lock the Greater Than zones; five 5-pip dominoes fill middle regions by shared pip value; 1|1, 2|0, 3|6, 2|3, and 6|4 close the board from the outside in.

Answers archived.

Easy: 4|4 anchors the equality zone; 0|0 settles the blank corner; 6|0 bridges between zones; 5|6, 1|2, and 0|5 complete the board.

Medium: 6|6 forces the high-value region; 2|2 settles the equality zone; 1|6 bridges the high-value column; 5|4, 4|2, 3|0, 2|0, and 0|1 complete the blank-constrained border.

Hard: Doubles-first: 4|4, 5|5, 1|1, and 6|6 lock corner and equality zones; 4|0 and 5|6 bridge adjacent regions; 4|3, 5|3, and 3|6 form the 3-face edge chain; 4|1 and 2|3 fill interior slots.