TodayHint

Pips August 24, 2026: Hints & Answers

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

Recap

The easy board requires straightforward placement, the medium board needs careful planning, and the hard board demands strategic thinking and attention to multiple constraints.

The three boards that day

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

Easy board · 5 dominoes · 5 regions

6–16–22–26–61–0

  • one cell: left uncovered.
  • two cells: exactly 1.
  • 2 ×two cells: exactly 12.
  • three cells: all matching.

This board is relatively simple with only 5 dominoes and straightforward constraints.

Medium board · 8 dominoes · 8 regions

3–22–24–43–35–31–56–44–3

  • 2 ×three cells: all matching.
  • one cell: under 4.
  • two cells: exactly 4.
  • one cell: under 2.
  • two cells: exactly 8.
  • two cells: all matching.
  • two cells: exactly 7.

This board has more dominoes and constraints than the easy board, requiring more careful planning.

Hard board · 12 dominoes · 12 regions

0–12–23–36–25–01–45–53–04–50–63–46–1

  • 2 ×two cells: exactly 10.
  • 3 ×two cells: all matching.
  • four cells: all matching.
  • two cells: exactly 1.
  • 2 ×two cells: exactly 2.
  • one cell: left uncovered.
  • two cells: more than 8.
  • one cell: exactly 2.

This board has the most dominoes and constraints, requiring careful planning and strategy to solve.

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, 5 regions (3 sum, 1 empty, 1 equals)
    Medium board
    8 dominoes, 8 regions (3 equals, 3 sum, 2 less)
    Hard board
    12 dominoes, 12 regions (6 sum, 4 equals, 1 empty, 1 greater)
    Back to the board inventories
  2. Easy board: how to approach it

    Method only.

    Start by identifying regions with the most restrictive constraints and look for dominoes that can only fit in one place.

  3. Easy board: where to start

    One region named by its constraint.

    The region with the equals constraint over 3 cells is a good starting point.

  4. Medium board: approach and first region

    The same two steps, one difficulty up.

    Look for dominoes that can be placed in multiple regions and try to satisfy the most restrictive constraints first.

    The region with the less 4 over 1 cell constraint is a good starting point.

  5. Hard board: how to approach it

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

    Focus on the regions with the most restrictive constraints and try to find dominoes that can satisfy multiple constraints at once.

  6. Hard board: where to start

    The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

    The region with the empty over 1 cell constraint is a good starting point.

    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 6/1 in the sum 12 over 2 cells region. Then, place 6/2 in the equals over 3 cells region. Next, place 2/2 in the sum 1 over 2 cells region. After that, place 6/6 in the empty over 1 cell region. Finally, place 1/0 in the remaining region.

  • Medium board · 8 dominoes

    Medium board walkthrough

    Place 3/2 in the less 4 over 1 cell region. Then, place 2/2 in the sum 4 over 2 cells region. Next, place 4/4 in the equals over 3 cells region. After that, place 3/3 in the equals over 3 cells region. Continue with 5/3 in the sum 7 over 2 cells region, 1/5 in the sum 8 over 2 cells region, 6/4 in the equals over 2 cells region, and finally 4/3 in the less 2 over 1 cell region.

  • Hard board · 12 dominoes

    Hard board walkthrough

    Place 0/1 in the empty over 1 cell region. Then, place 2/2 in the sum 2 over 2 cells region. Next, place 3/3 in the equals over 2 cells region. After that, place 6/2 in the sum 10 over 2 cells region. Continue with 5/0 in the greater 8 over 2 cells region, 1/4 in the sum 1 over 2 cells region, 5/5 in the equals over 4 cells region, 3/0 in the sum 2 over 1 cell region, 4/5 in the sum 10 over 2 cells region, 0/6 in the equals over 2 cells region, 3/4 in the sum 2 over 2 cells region, and finally 6/1 in the remaining region.

Those boards by the numbers

Date
Monday, August 24, 2026
Boards
3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play
25 across the three boards
Easy board
5 dominoes · 5 regions
Medium board
8 dominoes · 8 regions
Hard board
12 dominoes · 12 regions

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