TodayHint

Pips October 7, 2026: Hints & Answers

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

Recap

The easy board requires strategic placement to meet sum and comparison constraints. The medium board involves finding a balance with equality and inequality constraints. The hard board demands careful consideration of multiple constraints and domino placements.

The three boards that day

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

Easy board · 5 dominoes · 7 regions

0–34–11–22–55–4

  • two cells: exactly 1.
  • one cell: more than 2.
  • 2 ×two cells: exactly 9.
  • one cell: more than 1.
  • 2 ×one cell: left uncovered.

Small number of dominoes and regions makes it manageable.

Medium board · 7 dominoes · 6 regions

0–63–00–00–14–01–43–3

  • three cells: all matching.
  • one cell: more than 4.
  • seven cells: under 2.
  • 2 ×one cell: left uncovered.
  • one cell: exactly 4.

Moderate complexity with varied constraints.

Hard board · 12 dominoes · 11 regions

2–04–16–24–66–64–35–15–03–50–03–14–2

  • three cells: more than 10.
  • 2 ×one cell: exactly 5.
  • one cell: left uncovered.
  • three cells: more than 6.
  • two cells: exactly 6.
  • 2 ×three cells: all matching.
  • one cell: exactly 0.
  • three cells: all different.
  • three cells: exactly 11.

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 sum, 2 empty, 2 greater)
    Medium board
    7 dominoes, 6 regions (2 empty, 1 equals, 1 greater, 1 less, 1 sum)
    Hard board
    12 dominoes, 11 regions (5 sum, 2 equals, 2 greater, 1 empty, 1 unequal)
    Back to the board inventories
  2. Easy board: how to approach it

    Method only.

    Focus on regions with limited possibilities, such as those with sum constraints.

  3. Easy board: where to start

    One region named by its constraint.

    Begin with the region that requires a sum of 1 over 2 cells.

  4. Medium board: approach and first region

    The same two steps, one difficulty up.

    Look for regions with strict constraints, like equality or fixed sums.

    Start with the region that must equal a certain value over 3 cells.

  5. Hard board: how to approach it

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

    Identify regions with multiple constraints and prioritize those.

  6. Hard board: where to start

    The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

    Begin with the region requiring a sum of 5 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 0/3, 4/1, 1/2, 2/5, 5/4. Start with sum 1 over 2 cells, then fill in the rest.

  • Medium board · 7 dominoes

    Medium board walkthrough

    Place 0/6, 3/0, 0/0, 0/1, 4/0, 1/4, 3/3. Begin with equals over 3 cells.

  • Hard board · 12 dominoes

    Hard board walkthrough

    Place 2/0, 4/1, 6/2, 4/6, 6/6, 4/3, 5/1, 5/0, 3/5, 0/0, 3/1, 4/2. Start with greater 10 over 3 cells and sum 5 over 1 cell. Use process of elimination and constraint satisfaction to fill in dominoes, ensuring all regions meet their conditions.

Those boards by the numbers

Date
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Boards
3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play
24 across the three boards
Easy board
5 dominoes · 7 regions
Medium board
7 dominoes · 6 regions
Hard board
12 dominoes · 11 regions

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