TodayHint

Pips August 26, 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. The medium board involves careful management of equality and sum constraints. The hard board demands thorough analysis of various constraints and domino placements.

The three boards that day

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

Easy board · 5 dominoes · 5 regions

6–01–56–65–23–4

  • two cells: exactly 5.
  • one cell: left uncovered.
  • five cells: exactly 28.
  • one cell: under 1.
  • one cell: under 2.

Small number of dominoes and regions makes it manageable.

Medium board · 8 dominoes · 10 regions

6–55–36–63–14–31–64–52–5

  • one cell: more than 4.
  • 3 ×two cells: all matching.
  • three cells: all matching.
  • two cells: exactly 11.
  • 2 ×one cell: exactly 4.
  • one cell: left uncovered.
  • one cell: exactly 2.

More regions and dominoes require careful constraint management.

Hard board · 16 dominoes · 14 regions

2–24–46–31–42–06–40–03–30–12–46–02–35–50–36–23–5

  • 2 ×three cells: exactly 6.
  • 2 ×one cell: exactly 6.
  • three cells: exactly 9.
  • one cell: more than 3.
  • two cells: exactly 10.
  • 2 ×three cells: all matching.
  • four cells: exactly 0.
  • one cell: exactly 0.
  • one cell: under 2.
  • two cells: all matching.
  • four cells: all matching.

Large number of dominoes and complex constraints make it 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, 5 regions (2 less, 2 sum, 1 empty)
    Medium board
    8 dominoes, 10 regions (4 equals, 4 sum, 1 empty, 1 greater)
    Hard board
    16 dominoes, 14 regions (8 sum, 4 equals, 1 greater, 1 less)
    Back to the board inventories
  2. Easy board: how to approach it

    Method only.

    Start by identifying regions with unique constraints, then 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 a sum of 28 over 5 cells, as it has the most restrictive constraint.

  4. Medium board: approach and first region

    The same two steps, one difficulty up.

    Focus on regions with equality constraints, as they provide the most information.

    The region with an equals constraint over 3 cells.

  5. Hard board: how to approach it

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

    Look for regions with zero-sum constraints to anchor the solution.

  6. Hard board: where to start

    The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

    The region with a sum of 0 over 4 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 6/0 domino in the sum 28 region. Then, place the 6/6 domino. The 5/2 and 3/4 dominoes can be placed in the sum 5 and less 2 regions. Finally, place the 1/5 domino in the empty region.

  • Medium board · 8 dominoes

    Medium board walkthrough

    Place the 6/6 domino in the equals over 3 region. Then, use the 4/3 and 3/1 dominoes to satisfy the sum 11 and equals constraints. Continue with the 6/5 and 5/3 dominoes. The 4/5 and 2/5 dominoes can be placed in the sum 4 regions. Finally, place the 1/6 domino.

  • Hard board · 16 dominoes

    Hard board walkthrough

    Place the 0/0 domino in the sum 0 over 4 region. Then, use the 2/2 and 3/3 dominoes to satisfy the sum 6 constraints. Continue with the 6/3 and 6/4 dominoes. The 1/4 and 2/4 dominoes can be placed in the greater 3 and less 2 regions. Next, place the 6/0 and 6/2 dominoes. Then, use the 5/5 domino in the sum 10 region. The 0/1 and 0/3 dominoes can be placed in the sum 0 and equals regions. Finally, place the remaining dominoes, ensuring all constraints are satisfied.

Those boards by the numbers

Date
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Boards
3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play
29 across the three boards
Easy board
5 dominoes · 5 regions
Medium board
8 dominoes · 10 regions
Hard board
16 dominoes · 14 regions

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