Pips July 10, 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 in 6 regions. The medium board involves 7 dominoes in 7 regions with varied constraints. The hard board challenges with 15 dominoes in 14 regions.

The three boards that day

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

Easy board · 5 dominoes · 6 regions

Dominoes: 2–16–24–60–31–1

2 ×one cell: exactly 1.
two cells: exactly 6.
two cells: exactly 4.
two cells: all matching.
two cells: exactly 2.

Small number of dominoes and simple constraints make this easy.

Medium board · 7 dominoes · 7 regions

Dominoes: 2–34–45–24–22–62–26–1

one cell: under 4.
three cells: all different.
3 ×two cells: all matching.
one cell: more than 3.
three cells: all matching.

More dominoes and varied constraints increase difficulty.

Hard board · 15 dominoes · 14 regions

Dominoes: 6–60–02–20–14–40–21–35–01–14–56–35–56–14–31–5

two cells: more than 10.
2 ×two cells: exactly 8.
one cell: exactly 4.
two cells: exactly 10.
three cells: exactly 11.
four cells: all matching.
two cells: exactly 3.
one cell: exactly 3.
2 ×two cells: all matching.
three cells: all matching.
one cell: left uncovered.
three cells: exactly 3.

Large number of dominoes and complex constraints make this hard.

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 (5 sum, 1 equals)

Medium board

7 dominoes, 7 regions (4 equals, 1 greater, 1 less, 1 unequal)

Hard board

15 dominoes, 14 regions (8 sum, 4 equals, 1 empty, 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 a fixed sum or equals constraint.
Hint 3: Easy board: where to start

One region named by its constraint.

The region with a sum of 1 over 1 cell.
Hint 4: Medium board: approach and first region

The same two steps, one difficulty up.

Look for regions with strict constraints, such as the unequal over 3 cells region, to limit domino placement options.
The region with a less 4 over 1 cell.
Hint 5: Hard board: how to approach it

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

Focus on regions with multiple constraints or limited domino placement options to make progress.
Hint 6: Hard board: where to start

The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

The region with a sum of 4 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 the 0/3 domino in the sum 1 over 1 cell region. Then, place the 1/1 domino in the sum 2 over 2 cell region. Next, place the 2/1 domino in the equals over 2 cell region. After that, place the 4/6 domino in the sum 4 over 2 cell region. Finally, place the 6/2 domino in the sum 6 over 2 cell region.
Medium board · 7 dominoes
Medium board walkthrough
Begin by placing the 2/6 domino in the less 4 over 1 cell region. Then, place the 6/1 domino in the greater 3 over 1 cell region. Next, place the 2/3 domino in the unequal over 3 cells region. After that, place the 4/4 domino in the equals over 2 cell region. Continue with the 5/2 domino in the equals over 3 cells region, and the 4/2 domino in another equals over 2 cell region. Finally, place the 2/2 domino in the last equals over 2 cell region.
Hard board · 15 dominoes
Hard board walkthrough
Start by placing the 0/0 domino in the empty over 1 cell region. Then, place the 0/1 domino in the sum 3 over 1 cell region. Next, place the 0/2 domino in the sum 8 over 2 cell region. After that, place the 1/1 domino in the equals over 2 cell region. Continue with the 1/3 domino in the sum 4 over 1 cell region, and the 2/2 domino in another equals over 2 cell region. Place the 4/4 domino in the sum 8 over 2 cell region. Then, place the 5/0 domino in the greater 10 over 2 cell region. Next, place the 6/6 domino in the sum 11 over 3 cell region. After that, place the 6/3 domino in the sum 10 over 2 cell region, and the 6/1 domino in another region. Continue with the 5/5 domino, the 4/5 domino, and the 4/3 domino. Finally, place the 1/5 domino in the sum 3 over 3 cell region.

Those boards by the numbers

Date: Friday, July 10, 2026
Boards: 3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play: 27 across the three boards
Easy board: 5 dominoes · 6 regions
Medium board: 7 dominoes · 7 regions
Hard board: 15 dominoes · 14 regions

More Pips

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

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