TodayHint

Pips July 11, 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 6 regions. The medium board adds more complexity with 7 dominoes and 11 regions. The hard board is the most challenging with 11 dominoes and 14 regions, requiring careful consideration of multiple constraints.

The three boards that day

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

Easy board · 5 dominoes · 6 regions

2–21–12–42–30–3

  • one cell: more than 3.
  • 2 ×two cells: exactly 5.
  • three cells: exactly 5.
  • one cell: exactly 1.
  • one cell: left uncovered.

Small number of dominoes and simple constraints make this easy.

Medium board · 7 dominoes · 11 regions

0–30–40–50–63–53–66–6

  • one cell: more than 3.
  • 2 ×two cells: exactly 9.
  • 4 ×one cell: left uncovered.
  • one cell: more than 0.
  • two cells: exactly 11.
  • one cell: more than 4.
  • one cell: exactly 3.

More regions and dominoes add complexity compared to easy board.

Hard board · 11 dominoes · 14 regions

2–10–65–13–34–45–01–34–31–63–24–0

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

Large number of dominoes and complex constraints make this 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, 6 regions (4 sum, 1 empty, 1 greater)
    Medium board
    7 dominoes, 11 regions (4 empty, 4 sum, 3 greater)
    Hard board
    11 dominoes, 14 regions (9 sum, 3 greater, 1 equals, 1 less)
    Back to the board inventories
  2. Easy board: how to approach it

    Method only.

    Start by identifying regions with the fewest possible domino combinations.

  3. Easy board: where to start

    One region named by its constraint.

    Look for a region with a sum constraint over a small number of cells.

  4. Medium board: approach and first region

    The same two steps, one difficulty up.

    Identify regions with fixed or limited domino options to start with.

    A region with a sum constraint over 2 cells is a good starting point.

  5. Hard board: how to approach it

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

    Look for regions with dominoes that have a limited number of possible placements.

  6. Hard board: where to start

    The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

    Focus on a region with a sum or comparison constraint that can be easily satisfied.

    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

    Begin with the sum 1 over 1 cell region, placing 0/3. Then, focus on the sum 5 over 2 cell regions. Place 2/3 and 2/2, followed by 1/1. The remaining dominoes 2/4 and 0/3 can be placed to satisfy the greater 3 over 1 cell and empty over 1 cell regions.

  • Medium board · 7 dominoes

    Medium board walkthrough

    Start with the sum 9 over 2 cell region. Place 3/6 and 6/6, then focus on the sum 11 over 2 cell region. Continue with the greater 4 over 1 cell and sum 3 over 1 cell regions. The remaining dominoes can be placed to satisfy the constraints.

  • Hard board · 11 dominoes

    Hard board walkthrough

    Begin with the sum 6 over 2 cell region, placing 5/1 and 1/5 or similar. Then, focus on the less 3 over 1 cell region and place 0/6. Continue with the greater 3 over 1 cell regions, placing 3/3, 4/3, and 3/2. The sum 3 over 3 cell region can be satisfied with 1/3, 1/3, and 1/3 or similar. Next, place 4/4, 5/0, and 4/0 to satisfy the remaining constraints. Finally, place 1/6 and 2/1 to complete the board.

Those boards by the numbers

Date
Saturday, July 11, 2026
Boards
3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play
23 across the three boards
Easy board
5 dominoes · 6 regions
Medium board
7 dominoes · 11 regions
Hard board
11 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.

Try the other two puzzles