TodayHint

Pips September 25, 2026: Hints & Answers

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

Recap

The three boards offer increasing difficulty with more dominoes and complex constraints. The easy board is straightforward, the medium board requires calculation, and the hard board demands strategic planning and attention to detail.

The three boards that day

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

Easy board · 5 dominoes · 5 regions

6–64–41–56–14–6

  • two cells: all matching.
  • one cell: under 6.
  • one cell: more than 5.
  • 2 ×three cells: all matching.

This board is relatively straightforward with simple constraints.

Medium board · 7 dominoes · 6 regions

2–31–12–63–16–04–22–0

  • one cell: exactly 2.
  • 2 ×two cells: exactly 7.
  • 2 ×four cells: exactly 7.
  • one cell: exactly 3.

This board requires some calculation and planning ahead.

Hard board · 16 dominoes · 17 regions

4–05–22–05–30–01–63–34–62–20–16–65–04–40–35–52–6

  • 3 ×one cell: exactly 0.
  • four cells: exactly 14.
  • three cells: exactly 18.
  • three cells: exactly 14.
  • one cell: exactly 1.
  • three cells: exactly 12.
  • one cell: under 3.
  • one cell: exactly 4.
  • two cells: exactly 9.
  • two cells: exactly 6.
  • 2 ×two cells: exactly 0.
  • one cell: more than 0.
  • two cells: exactly 10.
  • two cells: all matching.

This board is challenging due to its size 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, 5 regions (3 equals, 1 greater, 1 less)
    Medium board
    7 dominoes, 6 regions (6 sum)
    Hard board
    16 dominoes, 17 regions (14 sum, 1 equals, 1 greater, 1 less)
    Back to the board inventories
  2. Easy board: how to approach it

    Method only.

    Start by identifying regions with unique constraints, and look for dominoes that can only fit in one place.

  3. Easy board: where to start

    One region named by its constraint.

    The region with the equals constraint over 3 cells is a good starting point.

  4. Medium board: approach and first region

    The same two steps, one difficulty up.

    Look for regions with small sum constraints and try to place dominoes that add up to those sums.

    The region with the sum 2 over 1 cell 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 small sum constraints and try to build from there.

  6. Hard board: where to start

    The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

    The region with the sum 0 over 1 cell 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 6/6 domino in the equals over 2 cells region. Then, place the 4/4 domino in the equals over 3 cells region. Next, place the 1/5 domino in the greater 5 over 1 cell region. The 6/1 domino goes in the less 6 over 1 cell region. Finally, place the 4/6 domino in the remaining equals over 3 cells region.

  • Medium board · 7 dominoes

    Medium board walkthrough

    Place the 1/1 domino in the sum 2 over 1 cell region. Then, place the 2/0 domino in the sum 3 over 1 cell region. Next, place the 2/3 domino in the sum 7 over 4 cells region. The 6/0 domino goes in the sum 7 over 2 cells region. Continue with the 4/2 domino in the sum 7 over 2 cells region, and the 3/1 domino in the sum 7 over 4 cells region. Finally, place the 2/6 domino in the remaining region.

  • Hard board · 16 dominoes

    Hard board walkthrough

    Place the 0/0 domino in the sum 0 over 1 cell region. Then, place the 4/0 domino in the sum 0 over 1 cell region. Next, place the 5/0 domino in the sum 0 over 2 cells region. The 0/3 domino goes in the sum 0 over 2 cells region. Continue with the 5/5 domino in the sum 10 over 2 cells region, and the 4/6 domino in the sum 14 over 4 cells region. Place the 1/6 domino in the sum 18 over 3 cells region. Then, the 3/3 domino goes in the sum 12 over 3 cells region. Next, place the 2/2 domino in the sum 9 over 2 cells region. The 5/2 domino goes in the sum 14 over 3 cells region. Continue with the 5/3 domino in the greater 0 over 1 cell region. Place the 6/6 domino in the sum 6 over 2 cells region. Then, the 4/4 domino goes in the equals over 2 cells region. Finally, place the remaining dominoes in their respective regions.

Those boards by the numbers

Date
Friday, September 25, 2026
Boards
3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play
28 across the three boards
Easy board
5 dominoes · 5 regions
Medium board
7 dominoes · 6 regions
Hard board
16 dominoes · 17 regions

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