TodayHint

Pips August 12, 2026: Hints & Answers

Constructed by Ian Livengood, Ian Livengood, Rodolfo Kurchan, edited by Ian Livengood.

Recap

The easy board requires logical placement based on sums and empty cells. The medium board involves equality and comparison constraints. The hard board demands careful deduction with many dominoes and complex constraints.

The three boards that day

The tray and each region's rule — board data, no solutions.

Easy board · 5 dominoes · 6 regions

3–32–60–32–24–5

  • two cells: exactly 11.
  • 2 ×two cells: exactly 5.
  • one cell: left uncovered.
  • one cell: under 2.
  • two cells: exactly 6.

Small number of dominoes and simple constraints make this easy.

Medium board · 7 dominoes · 7 regions

4–21–43–62–15–45–23–1

  • 2 ×three cells: all matching.
  • two cells: more than 6.
  • one cell: left uncovered.
  • 2 ×two cells: more than 8.
  • one cell: exactly 4.

More dominoes and varied constraints increase the challenge.

Hard board · 16 dominoes · 17 regions

0–00–10–20–30–50–61–21–41–63–33–43–54–45–55–66–6

  • one cell: exactly 3.
  • 3 ×three cells: all matching.
  • three cells: exactly 16.
  • 3 ×one cell: more than 3.
  • one cell: exactly 5.
  • 2 ×one cell: under 3.
  • 2 ×one cell: more than 0.
  • four cells: all matching.
  • three cells: exactly 14.
  • three cells: exactly 12.
  • one cell: left uncovered.

Large number of dominoes and complex constraints make this challenging.

Pips hints, one rung at a time

Six rungs, easy board first. The recap above already named the walkthroughs, so this ladder is here for anyone replaying the boards fresh rather than as a spoiler shield.

  1. How the three boards compared

    Sizes and constraint mixes, counted off the boards.

    Easy board
    5 dominoes, 6 regions (4 sum, 1 empty, 1 less)
    Medium board
    7 dominoes, 7 regions (3 greater, 2 equals, 1 empty, 1 sum)
    Hard board
    16 dominoes, 17 regions (5 greater, 5 sum, 4 equals, 2 less, 1 empty)
    Back to the board inventories
  2. Easy board: how to approach it

    Method only.

    Start by identifying regions with limited possibilities, such as those with a fixed sum or empty cells.

  3. Easy board: where to start

    One region named by its constraint.

    Begin with the region that must be empty, as it has the fewest options.

  4. Medium board: approach and first region

    The same two steps, one difficulty up.

    Look for regions with equality constraints, as they can help anchor the dominoes. Identify dominoes that can only fit in one or two places.

    Start with an equality region that affects multiple dominoes.

  5. Hard board: how to approach it

    Where the hard board differed in kind, not just size.

    Focus on regions with strict constraints like sums or empty cells. Use dominoes with unique numbers to anchor the solution.

  6. Hard board: where to start

    The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

    Begin with a region that has a fixed sum or a unique constraint.

    Open the full walkthroughs

Every Pips walkthrough from that day

All three walkthroughs, folded: each one places every domino on its board, one after another.

  • Easy board · 5 dominoes

    Easy board walkthrough

    Place the 0/3 domino in the empty region. Then, focus on the sum 11 region, likely involving the 4/5 and 3/3 dominoes. The sum 5 regions help place the 2/2 and 2/6 dominoes. The remaining domino, 0/3, has limited placement options.

  • Medium board · 7 dominoes

    Medium board walkthrough

    Begin with an equals region, placing dominoes like 4/2 and 1/4. Use greater than regions to place 5/4, 5/2, and 3/6 dominoes. Sum and equality constraints help place the rest.

  • Hard board · 16 dominoes

    Hard board walkthrough

    Start by placing dominoes in sum and empty regions. Use comparisons to narrow down options for dominoes like 0/0, 6/6, and 5/5. Equality regions help place dominoes with matching numbers. Continue using constraints to place remaining dominoes, ensuring each region's requirements are met. This process involves careful deduction and elimination.

Those boards by the numbers

Date
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Boards
3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play
28 across the three boards
Easy board
5 dominoes · 6 regions
Medium board
7 dominoes · 7 regions
Hard board
16 dominoes · 17 regions

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