TodayHint

Pips September 12, 2026: Hints & Answers

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

Recap

The three boards increase in difficulty from easy to hard, with the easy board having 5 dominoes and 5 regions, the medium board having 7 dominoes and 7 regions, and the hard board having 16 dominoes and 19 regions. The hard board features a wide variety 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 · 5 regions

3–16–61–44–20–5

  • one cell: under 4.
  • one cell: under 1.
  • four cells: all different.
  • two cells: all matching.
  • two cells: exactly 10.

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

Medium board · 7 dominoes · 7 regions

1–10–20–06–33–33–00–6

  • 3 ×two cells: all matching.
  • three cells: exactly 4.
  • three cells: all matching.
  • one cell: exactly 3.
  • one cell: under 2.

This board has more regions and dominoes than the easy board, but the constraints are still relatively manageable.

Hard board · 16 dominoes · 19 regions

0–45–63–31–60–31–14–32–53–64–13–26–41–36–62–43–5

  • 2 ×one cell: more than 3.
  • 3 ×one cell: more than 4.
  • one cell: exactly 4.
  • five cells: all matching.
  • one cell: left uncovered.
  • two cells: exactly 6.
  • 2 ×two cells: all matching.
  • one cell: more than 1.
  • one cell: under 4.
  • one cell: under 2.
  • one cell: exactly 2.
  • two cells: more than 9.
  • three cells: exactly 12.
  • three cells: exactly 15.
  • two cells: more than 10.

This board is significantly more challenging due to the large number of dominoes and regions, as well as 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, 5 regions (2 less, 1 equals, 1 sum, 1 unequal)
    Medium board
    7 dominoes, 7 regions (4 equals, 2 sum, 1 less)
    Hard board
    16 dominoes, 19 regions (8 greater, 5 sum, 3 equals, 2 less, 1 empty)
    Back to the board inventories
  2. Easy board: how to approach it

    Method only.

    Start by identifying regions with the most restrictive constraints and try to place dominoes that satisfy those conditions.

  3. Easy board: where to start

    One region named by its constraint.

    Focus on the region with the equals constraint over 2 cells.

  4. Medium board: approach and first region

    The same two steps, one difficulty up.

    Look for regions with multiple constraints and try to find dominoes that satisfy multiple conditions at once.

    Start with the region that has the sum 3 over 1 cell constraint.

  5. Hard board: how to approach it

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

    Begin by focusing on regions with the most restrictive constraints, such as the greater 10 over 2 cells region.

  6. Hard board: where to start

    The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

    Focus on the region with the greater 10 over 2 cells constraint.

    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 3/1 in the less 4 over 1 cell region. Then, place 6/6 in the equals over 2 cells region. Next, place 1/4 in the unequal over 4 cells region. After that, place 4/2 in the less 1 over 1 cell region. Finally, place 0/5 in the sum 10 over 2 cells region.

  • Medium board · 7 dominoes

    Medium board walkthrough

    Place 0/0 in the sum 3 over 1 cell region. Then, place 1/1 in one of the equals over 2 cells regions. Next, place 3/3 in another equals over 2 cells region. After that, place 0/2 and 0/6 in the remaining regions. Finally, place 6/3 and 3/0 in the last two regions.

  • Hard board · 16 dominoes

    Hard board walkthrough

    The solution involves a complex sequence of placements. Start by placing 6/6 in the equals over 5 cells region. Then, place 3/3 in one of the sum 12 over 3 cells regions. Next, place 4/3 and 2/5 in the greater 4 over 1 cell regions. Continue with 0/4, 1/1, and 1/3 in the less 4 over 1 cell and sum 4 over 1 cell regions. Place 5/6 and 6/4 in the greater 9 over 2 cells region. After that, fill in the remaining regions with the remaining dominoes, ensuring all constraints are satisfied.

Those boards by the numbers

Date
Saturday, September 12, 2026
Boards
3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play
28 across the three boards
Easy board
5 dominoes · 5 regions
Medium board
7 dominoes · 7 regions
Hard board
16 dominoes · 19 regions

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