TodayHint

Pips September 18, 2026: Hints & Answers

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

Recap

The easy board requires logical deductions from simple constraints. The medium board involves more dominoes and complex sums. The hard board demands careful analysis of interconnected constraints and strategic domino placement.

The three boards that day

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

Easy board · 5 dominoes · 6 regions

2–20–05–61–41–5

  • 3 ×two cells: all matching.
  • one cell: exactly 6.
  • two cells: exactly 0.
  • one cell: exactly 4.

Small number of dominoes and simple constraints.

Medium board · 8 dominoes · 9 regions

0–46–43–42–15–24–53–62–6

  • three cells: exactly 8.
  • one cell: left uncovered.
  • 5 ×two cells: exactly 8.
  • one cell: exactly 3.
  • one cell: under 2.

More dominoes and complex constraints compared to easy.

Hard board · 13 dominoes · 16 regions

0–64–36–25–03–62–10–31–14–03–10–23–30–1

  • three cells: all matching.
  • one cell: under 4.
  • 2 ×one cell: under 3.
  • 2 ×one cell: under 2.
  • five cells: all matching.
  • one cell: under 6.
  • one cell: under 5.
  • 3 ×one cell: left uncovered.
  • four cells: all matching.
  • two cells: more than 10.
  • 2 ×one cell: more than 3.

Large number of dominoes and complex, interconnected 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 (3 equals, 3 sum)
    Medium board
    8 dominoes, 9 regions (7 sum, 1 empty, 1 less)
    Hard board
    13 dominoes, 16 regions (7 less, 3 empty, 3 equals, 3 greater)
    Back to the board inventories
  2. Easy board: how to approach it

    Method only.

    Focus on regions with the fewest possible values and use process of elimination.

  3. Easy board: where to start

    One region named by its constraint.

    The region with a sum of 4 over 1 cell.

  4. Medium board: approach and first region

    The same two steps, one difficulty up.

    Identify regions with fixed sums and use them to limit domino placement options.

    The region with a sum of 3 over 1 cell.

  5. Hard board: how to approach it

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

    Look for regions with strict constraints and use them to anchor the solution.

  6. Hard board: where to start

    The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

    The region with an equals constraint over 3 cells.

    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 2/2 domino. The sum 6 over 1 cell region can only contain the 5/6 domino. Place the 5/6 domino. The equals over 2 cell region with the 1/4 and 1/5 dominoes can be solved next. Place the 1/4 and 1/5 dominoes. Finally, place the 0/0 domino.

  • Medium board · 8 dominoes

    Medium board walkthrough

    Start with the sum 8 over 3 cell region. The only way to achieve this is with the 6/4, 2/1, and 0/4 dominoes. Place these dominoes. The sum 8 over 2 cell regions can be solved next, using the remaining dominoes. Place the 5/2 and 4/5 dominoes. Continue with the 3/4 domino. The less 2 over 1 cell region helps place the 3/6 and 2/6 dominoes.

  • Hard board · 13 dominoes

    Hard board walkthrough

    Begin with the equals over 3 cell region, which can only be formed by specific domino combinations. Place the 0/6 and 4/3 dominoes. The less 4 over 1 cell region and less 3 over 1 cell region provide clues for placing the 6/2 and 5/0 dominoes. Continue with the equals over 5 cell region, using the 3/6, 2/1, and 0/3 dominoes. The greater 10 over 2 cell region helps place the 4/0 and 3/1 dominoes. Finally, place the remaining dominoes around the empty regions.

Those boards by the numbers

Date
Friday, September 18, 2026
Boards
3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play
26 across the three boards
Easy board
5 dominoes · 6 regions
Medium board
8 dominoes · 9 regions
Hard board
13 dominoes · 16 regions

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