TodayHint

Pips August 16, 2026: Hints & Answers

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

Recap

The easy board requires logical deductions from simple constraints. The medium board adds more complexity with equality constraints. The hard board demands careful consideration of multiple constraints and domino placements.

The three boards that day

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

Easy board · 5 dominoes · 6 regions

6–44–50–65–23–3

  • two cells: exactly 6.
  • one cell: exactly 2.
  • two cells: exactly 10.
  • two cells: exactly 8.
  • two cells: exactly 12.
  • one cell: left uncovered.

Small number of dominoes and simple constraints make this easy.

Medium board · 8 dominoes · 7 regions

5–00–45–55–12–04–33–33–0

  • 2 ×four cells: all matching.
  • three cells: exactly 7.
  • one cell: under 3.
  • one cell: more than 3.
  • two cells: exactly 7.
  • one cell: exactly 3.

More dominoes and varied constraints increase the challenge.

Hard board · 13 dominoes · 18 regions

0–20–40–51–11–21–41–52–63–33–44–45–55–6

  • 2 ×two cells: exactly 9.
  • two cells: all matching.
  • one cell: under 3.
  • one cell: under 4.
  • two cells: exactly 2.
  • one cell: under 5.
  • two cells: under 2.
  • one cell: more than 4.
  • three cells: exactly 9.
  • one cell: exactly 5.
  • one cell: more than 3.
  • 2 ×one cell: exactly 3.
  • two cells: exactly 5.
  • one cell: more than 1.
  • one cell: exactly 1.
  • 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 (5 sum, 1 empty)
    Medium board
    8 dominoes, 7 regions (3 sum, 2 equals, 1 greater, 1 less)
    Hard board
    13 dominoes, 18 regions (9 sum, 4 less, 3 greater, 1 empty, 1 equals)
    Back to the board inventories
  2. Easy board: how to approach it

    Method only.

    Focus on regions with the fewest possible domino placements, using sums to narrow down options.

  3. Easy board: where to start

    One region named by its constraint.

    Begin with the region that must contain an empty cell.

  4. Medium board: approach and first region

    The same two steps, one difficulty up.

    Identify regions with fixed values or simple comparisons to start placing dominoes.

    Start with the region that requires equality across 4 cells.

  5. Hard board: how to approach it

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

    Look for regions with strict constraints, such as fixed sums or comparisons, to anchor your solution.

  6. Hard board: where to start

    The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

    Begin with the region that has a sum of 9 over 2 cells.

    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 first, as it can only fit in one region. Then, use the sum 6 over 2 cells to place the 6/4 domino. Next, place the 5/2 domino, followed by the 0/6 domino. Finally, place the 4/5 domino.

  • Medium board · 8 dominoes

    Medium board walkthrough

    Begin by placing dominoes that satisfy equality constraints. Use the sum 7 over 3 cells to place the 5/1 and 2/0 dominoes. Then, place the 3/3 domino, followed by the 4/3 domino. Continue with the 5/5 domino, and finally place the remaining dominoes.

  • Hard board · 13 dominoes

    Hard board walkthrough

    Start by placing the 5/5 domino in the sum 10 region. Then, place the 4/4 domino, followed by the 3/3 domino. Use the equals constraint to place the 1/1 domino. Next, place the 0/2, 0/4, and 0/5 dominoes in the less than regions. Continue with the 1/2, 1/4, and 1/5 dominoes, and place the 2/6 domino. Finally, place the 3/4 domino, and then the 5/6 domino. Use the remaining constraints to place the last dominoes.

Those boards by the numbers

Date
Sunday, August 16, 2026
Boards
3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play
26 across the three boards
Easy board
5 dominoes · 6 regions
Medium board
8 dominoes · 7 regions
Hard board
13 dominoes · 18 regions

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