NYT Pips is the New York Times’ domino-inspired daily puzzle that has quietly become one of the most satisfying entries in the NYT Games lineup. If you’re stuck on the April 24, 2026 puzzle — whether on Easy, Medium, or Hard — you’ll find every hint and full answer below, organized by difficulty.
How to Play NYT Pips
Pips takes its cue from dominoes. Each domino tile is placed either vertically or horizontally on the board, and adjacent tiles connect to one another. Unlike traditional dominoes, touching halves don’t have to match — instead, you must satisfy color-coded zone conditions.
Here’s a quick rundown of the condition types you’ll encounter:
- Number: All pips in this zone must add up to the given number.
- Equal: Every domino half in this zone must show the same pip count.
- Not Equal: Every domino half in this zone must show a different pip count.
- Less Than: Every domino half in this zone must be below the given number.
- Greater Than: Every domino half in this zone must exceed the given number.
Zones without color coding have no restrictions. Keep in mind that a single domino can straddle two zones — only the half inside a colored zone needs to meet that zone’s condition.
Easy Difficulty – April 24, 2026 NYT Pips Hints and Answers
Purple – Number (3): The domino half here must total 3 pips. Answer: 3-5, placed vertically.
Red – Equal (0): Every half in this space must show 0 pips. Answer: 2-0 horizontally; 0-3 horizontally; 5-0 horizontally.
Light Blue – Equal (3): Every half here must show exactly 3 pips. Answer: 0-3 horizontally; 1-3 horizontally.
Yellow – Number (10): Everything in this zone must total 10. Answer: 3-5 vertically; 5-0 horizontally.
Dark Blue – Less Than (2): The half here must be under 2. Answer: 1-3, placed horizontally.
Medium Difficulty – April 24, 2026 NYT Pips Hints and Answers
Purple – Number (7): Everything here must add up to 7. Answer: 3-1 vertically; 3-3 horizontally.
Red – Number (7): Everything here must add up to 7. Answer: 5-5 horizontally; 1-1 vertically.
Light Blue – Less Than (2): The half here must be under 2. Answer: 0-1, placed vertically.
Yellow – Less Than (5): The half here must be under 5. Answer: 3-3, placed horizontally.
Dark Blue – Number (7): Everything here must add up to 7. Answer: 0-1 vertically; 6-3 horizontally.
Green – Number (7): Everything here must add up to 7. Answer: 3-2 horizontally; 5-2 vertically.
Purple (second zone) – Less Than (3): The half here must be under 3. Answer: 5-2, placed vertically.
Hard Difficulty – April 24, 2026 NYT Pips Hints and Answers
The Hard puzzle packs in significantly more colored zones. Work through them carefully — a tile you place early will affect multiple zones simultaneously.
Purple – Number (2): The half here must show 2 pips. Answer: 2-5 horizontally.
Red – Number (5): The half here must show 5 pips. Answer: 2-5 horizontally.
Light Blue – Number (0): The half here must show 0 pips. Answer: 0-6 vertically.
Yellow – Less Than (2): Everything here must total less than 2. Answer: 1-6 vertically; 0-3 horizontally.
Dark Blue – Greater Than (2): The half here must exceed 2. Answer: 0-3 horizontally.
Green – Greater Than (5): The half here must exceed 5. Answer: 0-6 vertically.
Purple – Greater Than (5): The half here must exceed 5. Answer: 1-6 vertically.
Red – Number (2): The half here must show 2 pips. Answer: 2-1 vertically.
Light Blue – Number (5): The half here must show 5 pips. Answer: 5-0 horizontally.
Yellow – Number (0): The half here must show 0 pips. Answer: 5-0 horizontally.
Dark Blue – Equal (2): Every half here must show exactly 2 pips. Answer: 2-6 vertically; 2-4 horizontally.
Green – Less Than (2): Everything here must total less than 2. Answer: 0-0 horizontally; 1-3 vertically.
Purple – Number (2): Everything here must add up to 2. Answer: 2-1 vertically; 1-5 vertically.
Red – Equal (1): Every half here must show exactly 1 pip. Answer: 1-1 vertically; 0-1 horizontally.
Light Blue – Greater Than (5): The half here must exceed 5. Answer: 2-6 vertically.
Yellow – Less Than (5): The half here must be under 5. Answer: 1-3 vertically.
Dark Blue – Greater Than (5): The half here must exceed 5. Answer: 6-4 horizontally.
Green – Equal (4): Every half here must show exactly 4 pips. Answer: 6-4 horizontally; 4-1 horizontally.
Purple – Less Than (2): Everything here must total less than 2. Answer: 4-1 horizontally; 0-2 horizontally.
Red – Number (2): The half here must show 2 pips. Answer: 0-2 horizontally.
Light Blue – Number (5): The half here must show 5 pips. Answer: 1-5 vertically.
Yellow – Number (0): The half here must show 0 pips. Answer: 0-1 horizontally.
Tips for Solving NYT Pips Faster
Hard mode in particular rewards a methodical approach. Start by identifying zones with the most restrictive conditions — Greater Than (5) zones can only be satisfied by a 6, which immediately narrows your tile choices. Similarly, Equal zones force both halves of any domino straddling them to match, so work outward from those anchors. If you notice the same domino tile (like 2-5) satisfying two adjacent zones at once, that’s usually the correct placement — Pips puzzles are designed with elegant overlaps built in.
More Daily Puzzle Answers
Looking for other puzzles today? Check out these recent dotwordle.com guides:
- April 23, 2026 NYT Pips Hints and Answers – Easy, Medium, and Hard Solutions
- April 22, 2026 NYT Pips Hints and Answers – Easy, Medium, and Hard Solutions
- April 21, 2026 NYT Pips Hints and Answers – Easy, Medium, and Hard Solutions
- April 23, 2026 Wordle #1769 Hint and Answer
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Shahid Maqsood is a digital entrepreneur and SEO specialist focused on building engaging web experiences. He is the creator of DotWordle, combining creativity with smart, user-friendly design.
