TodayHint

Pips August 15, 2026: Hints & Answers

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

Recap

The easy board requires strategic placement of 5 dominoes in 4 regions with simple constraints. The medium board involves 7 dominoes in 9 regions with varied constraints. The hard board challenges solvers with 15 dominoes in 17 regions with complex constraints.

The three boards that day

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

Easy board · 5 dominoes · 4 regions

6–50–64–46–63–3

  • three cells: exactly 8.
  • four cells: all matching.
  • two cells: all matching.
  • one cell: exactly 5.

This board is relatively simple due to the small number of dominoes and restrictive constraints.

Medium board · 7 dominoes · 9 regions

4–61–31–66–23–62–04–2

  • 2 ×one cell: left uncovered.
  • two cells: more than 8.
  • 2 ×one cell: more than 4.
  • two cells: exactly 6.
  • two cells: all matching.
  • three cells: under 3.
  • one cell: under 3.

This board has a moderate level of difficulty due to the number of dominoes and varied constraints.

Hard board · 15 dominoes · 17 regions

0–14–40–52–10–06–43–06–24–51–14–36–52–06–60–4

  • one cell: more than 4.
  • one cell: more than 0.
  • three cells: more than 16.
  • 3 ×one cell: more than 3.
  • 4 ×one cell: left uncovered.
  • 2 ×four cells: all matching.
  • three cells: exactly 0.
  • one cell: under 3.
  • two cells: all matching.
  • two cells: exactly 8.
  • two cells: exactly 0.

This board is challenging due to the large number of dominoes and complex constraints.

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, 4 regions (2 equals, 2 sum)
    Medium board
    7 dominoes, 9 regions (3 greater, 2 empty, 2 less, 1 equals, 1 sum)
    Hard board
    15 dominoes, 17 regions (6 greater, 4 empty, 3 equals, 3 sum, 1 less)
    Back to the board inventories
  2. Easy board: how to approach it

    Method only.

    Start by focusing on regions with the most restrictive constraints, such as the sum 5 over 1 cell.

  3. Easy board: where to start

    One region named by its constraint.

    The region with the sum 5 over 1 cell has only one possible domino placement.

  4. Medium board: approach and first region

    The same two steps, one difficulty up.

    Begin by identifying regions with only one or two possible domino placements, such as the empty cell regions.

    The region with the empty cell constraint has only one possible placement.

  5. Hard board: how to approach it

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

    Start by focusing on regions with the most restrictive constraints, such as the sum 0 over 3 cells region.

  6. Hard board: where to start

    The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

    The region with the sum 0 over 3 cells constraint has a limited number of possible domino placements.

    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 3/3 domino in the sum 5 region. Then, use the equals over 4 cells region to place the 6/6 domino. Next, place the 4/4 domino in the equals over 2 cells region. The 6/5 and 0/6 dominoes can then be placed in the remaining regions.

  • Medium board · 7 dominoes

    Medium board walkthrough

    Place the 2/0 domino in the empty cell region. Then, use the greater 8 over 2 cells region to place the 4/6 and 6/2 dominoes. Continue placing dominoes in regions with restrictive constraints, such as the sum 6 over 2 cells region.

  • Hard board · 15 dominoes

    Hard board walkthrough

    Place the 0/0 domino in the sum 0 region. Then, use the greater 16 over 3 cells region to place the 6/4 and 6/6 dominoes. Continue placing dominoes in regions with restrictive constraints, such as the equals over 4 cells regions. The 0/1, 0/4, and 0/5 dominoes can be placed in the greater 0 and less 3 regions. Finally, place the remaining dominoes in the remaining regions, taking care to satisfy all constraints.

Those boards by the numbers

Date
Saturday, August 15, 2026
Boards
3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play
27 across the three boards
Easy board
5 dominoes · 4 regions
Medium board
7 dominoes · 9 regions
Hard board
15 dominoes · 17 regions

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