TodayHint

Pips September 8, 2026: Hints & Answers

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

Recap

The easy board requires strategic placement of 5 dominoes across 6 regions. The medium board involves 7 dominoes and 7 regions, focusing on equals and empty constraints. The hard board is the most complex, with 15 dominoes across 14 regions and a variety of constraints.

The three boards that day

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

Easy board · 5 dominoes · 6 regions

5–36–30–04–46–2

  • one cell: exactly 2.
  • 2 ×two cells: all matching.
  • two cells: under 2.
  • two cells: exactly 12.
  • one cell: left uncovered.

Small number of dominoes and simple constraints make this easy.

Medium board · 7 dominoes · 7 regions

0–26–64–41–10–42–61–4

  • 3 ×one cell: left uncovered.
  • three cells: all matching.
  • 2 ×two cells: all matching.
  • four cells: all matching.

More regions and dominoes than easy, but still manageable.

Hard board · 15 dominoes · 14 regions

4–20–03–43–04–12–06–42–21–03–24–56–25–13–31–2

  • 4 ×one cell: exactly 1.
  • one cell: exactly 2.
  • 2 ×three cells: all matching.
  • 2 ×two cells: all matching.
  • two cells: exactly 10.
  • six cells: all matching.
  • one cell: more than 3.
  • two cells: exactly 11.
  • four cells: all matching.

Many dominoes and complex constraints make this 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, 6 regions (2 equals, 2 sum, 1 empty, 1 less)
    Medium board
    7 dominoes, 7 regions (4 equals, 3 empty)
    Hard board
    15 dominoes, 14 regions (7 sum, 6 equals, 1 greater)
    Back to the board inventories
  2. Easy board: how to approach it

    Method only.

    Start by identifying regions with unique constraints, focusing on those that limit domino placement.

  3. Easy board: where to start

    One region named by its constraint.

    Begin with the region that must sum to 2 over a single cell.

  4. Medium board: approach and first region

    The same two steps, one difficulty up.

    Look for regions that can only contain one domino, then use equals constraints to place others.

    Start with one of the empty over 1 cell regions.

  5. Hard board: how to approach it

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

    Begin with regions having specific sum or comparison constraints that limit domino options.

  6. Hard board: where to start

    The last rung before the full walkthroughs.

    Focus on the region that requires a sum of 1 over a single 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 0/0 in the sum 2 region. Use equals constraints to place 4/4 and 6/2. Then, fit 5/3 and 6/3 around them. Finish with the remaining domino.

  • Medium board · 7 dominoes

    Medium board walkthrough

    Place dominoes in empty regions first. Then, use equals over 3 and 4 cells to place others, fitting around the remaining empty regions.

  • Hard board · 15 dominoes

    Hard board walkthrough

    Start by placing dominoes in sum 1 and sum 2 regions. Use equals over 6 cells to place a key domino. Then, fit others around these, using sum 10 and 11 regions to guide placements. Continue with equals and greater constraints, ensuring all regions meet their requirements. This will likely involve backtracking and checking multiple possibilities.

Those boards by the numbers

Date
Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Boards
3 — easy, medium, hard
Dominoes in play
27 across the three boards
Easy board
5 dominoes · 6 regions
Medium board
7 dominoes · 7 regions
Hard board
15 dominoes · 14 regions

More Pips

See the live Pips hints and answers page for the current boards, or browse every archived Pips date by month.

Try another puzzle