TodayHint

Pips October 23, 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 with simple constraints. The medium board involves 7 dominoes and 8 regions with more complex constraints. The hard board features 16 dominoes and 32 regions with a wide range of constraints, making it the most challenging.

The three boards that day

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

Easy board · 5 dominoes · 6 regions

4–43–15–26–52–4

  • two cells: exactly 3.
  • one cell: exactly 3.
  • three cells: all matching.
  • two cells: all matching.
  • one cell: left uncovered.
  • one cell: more than 5.

This board is relatively easy due to the small number of dominoes and simple constraints.

Medium board · 7 dominoes · 8 regions

2–25–54–40–41–44–25–6

  • two cells: more than 7.
  • three cells: exactly 15.
  • one cell: more than 1.
  • three cells: all matching.
  • two cells: exactly 4.
  • one cell: left uncovered.
  • one cell: under 3.
  • one cell: under 2.

This board has more complex constraints and a larger number of dominoes, making it moderately challenging.

Hard board · 16 dominoes · 32 regions

0–10–20–30–40–51–21–31–41–52–32–42–53–43–54–53–6

  • 5 ×one cell: exactly 0.
  • 5 ×one cell: exactly 4.
  • 5 ×one cell: exactly 1.
  • 5 ×one cell: exactly 2.
  • 6 ×one cell: exactly 3.
  • one cell: left uncovered.
  • 5 ×one cell: exactly 5.

This board is the most challenging due to the large number of dominoes and regions, and the complexity of the 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.

  1. How the three boards compared

    Sizes and constraint mixes, counted off the boards.

    Easy board
    5 dominoes, 6 regions (2 equals, 2 sum, 1 empty, 1 greater)
    Medium board
    7 dominoes, 8 regions (2 greater, 2 less, 2 sum, 1 empty, 1 equals)
    Hard board
    16 dominoes, 32 regions (31 sum, 1 empty)
    Back to the board inventories
  2. Easy board: how to approach it

    Method only.

    Start by identifying regions with the most constraints. Look for regions that can only contain one domino.

  3. Easy board: where to start

    One region named by its constraint.

    The region with the 'greater 5 over 1 cell' constraint is a good starting point.

  4. Medium board: approach and first region

    The same two steps, one difficulty up.

    Look for regions with a limited number of possible dominoes. Use the process of elimination to narrow down the options.

    The region with the 'greater 7 over 2 cells' constraint is a good starting point.

  5. Hard board: how to approach it

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

    Focus on regions with the most restrictive constraints. Use the dominoes with the highest and lowest values to start.

  6. Hard board: where to start

    The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

    The region with the 'sum 0 over 1 cell' constraint 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 6/5 domino in the greater 5 region. Then, place the 5/2 domino in the sum 3 over 2 cells region. Next, place the 4/4 domino in the equals over 3 cells region. After that, place the 3/1 domino in the sum 3 over 1 cell region. Finally, place the 2/4 domino in the equals over 2 cells region.

  • Medium board · 7 dominoes

    Medium board walkthrough

    Place the 5/6 domino in the greater 7 region. Then, place the 5/5 domino in the sum 15 over 3 cells region. Next, place the 4/4 domino in the equals over 3 cells region. After that, place the 4/2 domino in the sum 4 over 2 cells region. Place the 2/2 domino in the less 2 region. Then, place the 1/4 domino in the greater 1 region. Finally, place the 0/4 domino in the empty region.

  • Hard board · 16 dominoes

    Hard board walkthrough

    Begin by placing the 0/0 domino (if available) or the 0/x dominoes in the sum 0 regions. Then, place the dominoes with the highest values in the regions with the 'sum 5 over 1 cell' constraint. Continue by placing dominoes in regions with 'sum 1', 'sum 2', 'sum 3', and 'sum 4' constraints, making sure to satisfy the comparison constraints. Due to the complexity and the number of steps required, a full detailed walkthrough is not feasible here.

Those boards by the numbers

Date
Friday, October 23, 2026
Boards
3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play
28 across the three boards
Easy board
5 dominoes · 6 regions
Medium board
7 dominoes · 8 regions
Hard board
16 dominoes · 32 regions

More Pips

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

Try another puzzle