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Special Difficulty: 6/10

NYT Pips Answer Yesterday — Sunday, September 27, 2026

Puzzle #1296 • Difficulty 6/10

Yesterday's NYT Pips Answer

Yesterday's NYT Pips Puzzle

?
?
? =
?
?
? 10
? >4
?
? 2
?

Click a domino to reveal its placement

Deep Dive

Grid Dimensions

Difficulty Grid Dominoes Cells
Easy 4×4 5 10
Medium 6×4 8 16
Hard 6×9 12 24

Constraint Breakdown (Medium)

> Greater than 3
= Equals 3
# Sum target 1
— No constraint 17

Domino Pool (Medium)

Total pip count

50

Average per domino

6.3

Highest domino

[6|6] = 12

Lowest domino

[0|0] = 0

Constructor

Created by: [object Object]

Puzzle Analysis

The Pips puzzle offered three grid sizes: 4x4, 6x4, and 6x9. The 4x4 grid was a straightforward introduction. The key insight across all grids was recognizing how dominoes must fill specific areas. The 6x4 presented a moderate challenge. The largest 6x9 grid demanded more strategic placement. The difficulty rating of 6/10 feels accurate. Placing the dominoes in the larger grids required careful consideration of edge constraints. Some configurations were more intuitive than others. The puzzle escalated nicely in complexity.

How to Play NYT Pips

NYT Pips presents a grid with colored constraint regions. Your goal is to place all dominoes from the pool so every constraint is satisfied.

Each domino has two halves showing pip values (0–6 dots). Place them horizontally or vertically on the grid so adjacent cells form valid domino pairs.

Regions impose constraints: 'greater than' (>), 'less than' (<), 'equals' (=), or 'sum'. All cells in a region must satisfy its constraint using the pip values.

Three difficulty levels are available each day: Easy (small grid, few dominoes), Medium (moderate), and Hard (large grid, many dominoes). A new puzzle is available daily at midnight ET.

Play at nytimes.com/games/pips. A new puzzle is available every day.

Tips & Strategy

  • Start with the Easy puzzle to learn the constraint types, then work up to Medium and Hard.
  • Look for regions with 'equals' constraints first. They restrict which domino pairs can go where most tightly.
  • Count how many times each pip value appears in the domino pool. Match these counts against constraint targets to find forced placements.
  • On Hard mode, start from corners and edges where dominoes have fewer valid orientations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does NYT Pips repeat past answers?
NYT Pips aims to provide a fresh challenge every day without repeating recent answers.
Where can I find all past NYT Pips answers?
This page is the complete archive of past NYT Pips answers, updated daily after each new puzzle.
How is difficulty rated?
Difficulty is rated on a 1-10 scale based on answer complexity and how many hints players typically need.

More Special Games

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