TodayHint

Pips September 23, 2026: Hints & Answers

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

Recap

The three boards offer increasing difficulty and complexity, requiring strategic thinking and careful consideration of domino placements to satisfy the various constraints.

The three boards that day

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

Easy board · 5 dominoes · 7 regions

6–36–05–04–03–0

  • 4 ×one cell: exactly 0.
  • two cells: exactly 12.
  • two cells: exactly 8.
  • two cells: exactly 7.

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

Medium board · 7 dominoes · 8 regions

3–56–55–06–05–13–05–2

  • 3 ×two cells: all matching.
  • two cells: under 3.
  • two cells: exactly 3.
  • two cells: under 6.
  • one cell: left uncovered.
  • one cell: exactly 5.

This board has a moderate level of difficulty due to the mix of constraint types.

Hard board · 15 dominoes · 19 regions

1–16–43–01–64–50–05–26–05–16–25–36–63–10–46–3

  • two cells: exactly 11.
  • one cell: exactly 2.
  • one cell: exactly 4.
  • two cells: exactly 0.
  • one cell: under 4.
  • two cells: exactly 8.
  • 2 ×three cells: all matching.
  • 3 ×two cells: all matching.
  • one cell: exactly 5.
  • one cell: exactly 1.
  • two cells: under 2.
  • one cell: left uncovered.
  • one cell: under 3.
  • one cell: more than 3.
  • one cell: more than 0.
  • one cell: more than 1.

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

    Method only.

    Start by identifying regions with limited possibilities, such as those with a sum of 0 or a small target sum.

  3. Easy board: where to start

    One region named by its constraint.

    Begin with a region that has a sum of 0 over 1 cell.

  4. Medium board: approach and first region

    The same two steps, one difficulty up.

    Look for regions with equality constraints and try to match domino values accordingly.

    Start with a region that requires two cells to be equal.

  5. Hard board: how to approach it

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

    Focus on regions with specific sum constraints and try to combine dominoes to meet these targets.

  6. Hard board: where to start

    The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

    Begin with a region that has a sum constraint over 2 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 6/3 domino to satisfy the sum 12 over 2 cells region. Then, place the 6/0 domino in a region with a sum of 0 over 1 cell. Next, place the 5/0 domino in another region with a sum of 0 over 1 cell. Place the 4/0 and 3/0 dominoes to satisfy the remaining sum constraints.

  • Medium board · 7 dominoes

    Medium board walkthrough

    Place the 6/5 domino to satisfy an equality constraint. Then, place the 5/0 domino in a region with a sum constraint. Next, place the 3/0 domino to satisfy a less than constraint. Continue placing dominoes to satisfy the remaining constraints.

  • Hard board · 15 dominoes

    Hard board walkthrough

    Start by placing the 6/6 domino to satisfy a sum constraint. Then, place the 6/0 and 5/0 dominoes in regions with sum constraints. Next, place the 5/2 and 6/2 dominoes to satisfy inequality constraints. Continue placing dominoes to satisfy the remaining constraints, using a process of elimination and careful consideration of the domino values and region constraints. Place the 1/1, 6/4, and 3/0 dominoes to satisfy additional sum and inequality constraints. Finally, place the remaining dominoes to satisfy the emptiness and equality constraints.

Those boards by the numbers

Date
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Boards
3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play
27 across the three boards
Easy board
5 dominoes · 7 regions
Medium board
7 dominoes · 8 regions
Hard board
15 dominoes · 19 regions

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