Pips August 3, 2026: Hints & Answers

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

Recap

The three boards offer increasing difficulty and complexity, requiring strategic thinking and careful planning to solve. The easy board provides a straightforward introduction, while the medium and hard boards present more challenges and require more advanced techniques.

The three boards that day

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

Easy board · 5 dominoes · 6 regions

Dominoes: 5–65–04–46–45–2

three cells: all matching.
two cells: exactly 11.
one cell: under 3.
one cell: more than 3.
two cells: exactly 10.
one cell: under 2.

This board is relatively straightforward with simple constraints.

Medium board · 7 dominoes · 8 regions

Dominoes: 5–30–23–24–10–53–65–5

two cells: exactly 5.
two cells: more than 8.
2 ×two cells: exactly 8.
two cells: all matching.
2 ×one cell: left uncovered.
two cells: exactly 7.

This board has more complex constraints and requires careful planning.

Hard board · 15 dominoes · 16 regions

Dominoes: 0–10–20–50–61–11–31–41–62–32–53–34–44–55–66–6

two cells: exactly 4.
three cells: exactly 1.
2 ×two cells: exactly 10.
two cells: exactly 6.
three cells: all matching.
two cells: exactly 9.
two cells: exactly 12.
2 ×one cell: exactly 0.
one cell: exactly 5.
three cells: exactly 3.
two cells: exactly 7.
two cells: more than 10.
2 ×one cell: exactly 1.

This board is challenging due to its size 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.

Hint 1: How the three boards compared

Sizes and constraint mixes, counted off the boards.

Easy board

5 dominoes, 6 regions (2 less, 2 sum, 1 equals, 1 greater)

Medium board

7 dominoes, 8 regions (4 sum, 2 empty, 1 equals, 1 greater)

Hard board

15 dominoes, 16 regions (14 sum, 1 equals, 1 greater)

Back to the board inventories
Hint 2: Easy board: how to approach it

Method only.

Start by identifying regions with limited possibilities, such as those with equals or fixed sums.
Hint 3: Easy board: where to start

One region named by its constraint.

The region with an equals constraint over 3 cells is a good starting point.
Hint 4: Medium board: approach and first region

The same two steps, one difficulty up.

Look for regions with empty constraints to help you get started.
The region with an empty constraint over 1 cell is a good starting point.
Hint 5: Hard board: how to approach it

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

Focus on regions with multiple constraints to help narrow down possibilities.
Hint 6: Hard board: where to start

The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

The region with a sum constraint over 3 cells 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 the 5/0 domino to satisfy the equals constraint. Then, use the sum 11 over 2 cells to place the 5/6 domino. Next, place the 4/4 domino in the region with the equals constraint. The 6/4 domino can be placed to satisfy the greater 3 over 1 cell constraint. Finally, place the 5/2 domino to satisfy the less 2 over 1 cell constraint.
Medium board · 7 dominoes
Medium board walkthrough
Place the 0/2 domino in the empty region. Then, use the sum 5 over 2 cells to place the 3/2 domino. Next, place the 5/3 domino to satisfy the sum 8 over 2 cells constraint. The 4/1 domino can be placed to satisfy the greater 8 over 2 cells constraint. Continue with the remaining dominoes, using the sum and greater constraints to guide your placements.
Hard board · 15 dominoes
Hard board walkthrough
Begin by placing the 0/1 and 0/2 dominoes to satisfy the sum 1 over 3 cells constraint. Then, place the 1/1 domino to satisfy the sum 4 over 2 cells constraint. Continue with the remaining dominoes, using the various constraints to guide your placements. For example, the 6/6 domino can be placed to satisfy the sum 12 over 2 cells constraint. The 4/5 domino can be placed to satisfy the sum 9 over 2 cells constraint. As you progress, use the equals and greater constraints to further refine your placements.

Those boards by the numbers

Date: Monday, August 3, 2026
Boards: 3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play: 27 across the three boards
Easy board: 5 dominoes · 6 regions
Medium board: 7 dominoes · 8 regions
Hard board: 15 dominoes · 16 regions

More Pips

See the live Pips hints and answers page for the current boards, or browse every archived Pips date by month.

Try the other two puzzles

The live NYT Strands hints, spangram and answers page

Six theme words plus the spangram, with a read-only board that traces each answer.
The live NYT Connections hints and answers page

Sixteen tiles, four groups, and a graded hint ladder from nudge to full answer.