TodayHint

Pips August 29, 2026: Hints & Answers

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

Recap

The easy board requires strategic placement of 5 dominoes across 7 regions. The medium board involves 7 dominoes and 6 regions with a mix of constraints. The hard board is the most complex, with 14 dominoes and 14 regions, requiring careful consideration of various constraints.

The three boards that day

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

Easy board · 5 dominoes · 7 regions

4–26–65–45–61–3

  • 2 ×one cell: more than 5.
  • 3 ×two cells: exactly 7.
  • one cell: under 5.
  • one cell: more than 4.

Small number of dominoes and simple constraints make it manageable.

Medium board · 7 dominoes · 6 regions

5–16–31–06–60–04–20–6

  • 3 ×two cells: all matching.
  • two cells: exactly 8.
  • four cells: all matching.
  • two cells: exactly 6.

Moderate difficulty with a mix of sum and equals constraints.

Hard board · 14 dominoes · 14 regions

1–30–03–21–56–62–10–43–36–02–50–13–61–12–0

  • 3 ×one cell: left uncovered.
  • five cells: all matching.
  • 3 ×two cells: exactly 0.
  • three cells: exactly 6.
  • one cell: more than 2.
  • 2 ×two cells: exactly 12.
  • three cells: all matching.
  • two cells: exactly 10.
  • one cell: more than 1.

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, 7 regions (3 greater, 3 sum, 1 less)
    Medium board
    7 dominoes, 6 regions (4 equals, 2 sum)
    Hard board
    14 dominoes, 14 regions (7 sum, 3 empty, 2 equals, 2 greater)
    Back to the board inventories
  2. Easy board: how to approach it

    Method only.

    Focus on regions with unique constraints to limit domino placement options.

  3. Easy board: where to start

    One region named by its constraint.

    Begin with the region that has a greater constraint over 1 cell.

  4. Medium board: approach and first region

    The same two steps, one difficulty up.

    Look for regions with equals constraints to pair dominoes with matching numbers.

    Start with the equals constraint over 2 cells.

  5. Hard board: how to approach it

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

    Identify regions with empty or sum 0 constraints to start placing dominoes with 0 values.

  6. Hard board: where to start

    The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

    Begin with the region that has an empty constraint over 1 cell.

    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 4/2 in top left, 6/6 in top right. Use greater 5 to place 5/4. Then, place 5/6 and 1/3, satisfying sum 7 constraints.

  • Medium board · 7 dominoes

    Medium board walkthrough

    Place 6/6 and 0/0, then use equals to place 4/2 and 6/3. Continue with sum constraints.

  • Hard board · 14 dominoes

    Hard board walkthrough

    Place 0/0 and 6/0 in empty regions. Use sum 0 to place 0/1 and 0/4. Then, focus on greater and sum constraints to place remaining dominoes, ensuring all regions are satisfied. This involves strategic placement of dominoes like 3/3, 2/5, and 1/5 to meet the diverse constraints.

Those boards by the numbers

Date
Saturday, August 29, 2026
Boards
3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play
26 across the three boards
Easy board
5 dominoes · 7 regions
Medium board
7 dominoes · 6 regions
Hard board
14 dominoes · 14 regions

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