The New York Times keeps growing its puzzle collection, and its newest game, Pips, has quickly become a favorite since it came out in August 2025. The game mixes the look of dominoes with smart puzzle rules, creating a daily challenge where players solve using color-coded conditions.
Like Wordle and Connections, the game resets daily at midnight. However, unlike the other puzzles, if you get stuck in Pips, the only option is to reveal the whole solution, which makes you skip ahead, Mashable reported. Here are the hints and tips to help you solve NYT Pips today.
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How to play Pips
If you have played dominoes, you will be able to pick this up quickly. Each tile can be placed horizontally or vertically, but instead of just matching numbers, you will need to meet special color-coded conditions.
Here’s what you will see more often in NYT Pips
{{/usCountry}}Here’s what you will see more often in NYT Pips
{{/usCountry}}• Number: The pips in the colored space must add up to the target number.
• Equal: All domino halves in the space must show the same number.
• Not Equal: No domino halves in the space can match each other.
• Less than: Every domino half must be less than the number shown.
• Greater than: Every domino half must be more than the number shown.
If an area has no color, you are free to place tiles without restrictions.
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NYT Pips: Easy level difficulty hints, answers for September 5
Number (3): The total must be 3. The answer is 3-3, placed vertically.
Equal (3): Everything in this space must equal 3. The answer is 3-5, placed vertically; 3-3, placed vertically; 3-1, placed vertically.
Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 3-5, placed vertically; 2-3, placed horizontally.
Number (3): The total must add up to 3. The answer is 2-3, placed horizontally.
NYT Pips: Medium level difficulty hints, answers for September 5
Less than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 4. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally; 1-6, placed vertically.
Number (5): The total must add up to 5. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally.
Equal (3): The total in this space must equal 3. The answer is 3-3, placed vertically.
Equal (4): Everything in this space must equal 4. The answer is 4-4, placed horizontally; 4-2, placed vertically; 4-5, placed horizontally.
Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally.
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 2-2, placed vertically; 4-3, placed vertically.
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NYT Pips: Hard level difficulty hints, answers for September 5
Equal (3): Everything in this space must equal 3. The answer is 5-2, placed horizontally; 2-3, placed horizontally.
Not Equal: The numbers in this space must be different. The answer is 5-2, placed horizontally; 1-3, placed horizontally.
Number (2): The total in the light blue space must add up to 2. The answer is 1-3, placed horizontally; 2-1, placed horizontally.
Equal (3): Everything in this space must equal 3. The answer is 3-3, placed vertically.
Equal (2): The total must equal 2. The answer is 2-1, placed horizontally; 2-6, placed horizontally.
Number (6): Everything must add up to 6. The answer is 2-6, placed horizontally.
Number (2): The total must add up to 2. The answer is 1-5, placed vertically; 1-4, placed horizontally.
Equal (5): Everything in this light blue space must equal 5. The answer is 1-5, placed vertically; 5-4, placed horizontally; 5-5, placed vertically; 5-0, placed horizontally.
Equal (4): The total must equal 4. The answer is 1-4, placed horizontally; 5-4, placed horizontally; 4-0, placed horizontally.
Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 4-0, placed horizontally; 5-0, placed horizontally; 0-0, placed horizontally; 0-6, placed horizontally.
Number (18): The total in this space must add up to 18. The answer is 0-6, placed horizontally; 6-6, placed horizontally.
FAQs
Q1. What is NYT Pips?
Pips is a new daily puzzle game from The New York Times, which mixes domino-style tiles with logic-based, color-coded conditions.
Q2. How many difficulty levels does Pips have?
Pips offers three levels: Easy, Medium, and Hard.
Q3. Can I play Pips on mobile?
Yes, you can play Pips directly on the New York Times Games app or through a web browser.