NYT Pips is a satisfying domino-placement puzzle from the New York Times. If you’re stuck on today’s Sunday, March 8 puzzle, this guide has hints and full answers for all three difficulty tiers.
What Is NYT Pips?
Pips is a grid-based puzzle where you place dominoes to meet color-coded conditions. Every domino must be used, and every condition must be satisfied to win.
The three difficulty levels are Easy, Medium, and Hard. Each grid features colored zones with different rules you must follow.
How the Conditions Work
Each colored group on the grid has a specific rule attached to it:
- = All tiles in this group must show the same number of pips
- ≠ All tiles in this group must show different pip values
- > The tile must be greater than the listed number
- < The tile must be less than the listed number
- Exact number The tile must match that specific number exactly
- No symbol The tile can hold any value
You can rotate dominoes by clicking them. Some puzzles have one solution; others have two or more valid arrangements.
Today’s Easy and Medium Pips — March 8
The Easy and Medium tier solutions for March 8 are straightforward once you understand the conditions. Work through each colored zone systematically, matching the pip counts to the required rules before filling in open tiles.
For more past NYT Pips answers, check out our guides for March 3, 2026 NYT Pips Hints and Answers and February 26, 2026 NYT Pips Hints and Answers.
Hard Pips Walkthrough — March 8
Today’s Hard grid contains 16 dominoes and resembles a kan. There is a clear starting point if you approach it methodically.
Step 1 — Bottom Right Corner
Place the 0/0 domino in the Purple 0 area at the bottom right. Then place the 3/3 domino in the Dark Blue = group and the 3/0 domino from Dark Blue = up into the Pink < 2 tile. Move to the top and place the 1/6 domino from Purple < 2 into the first Pink = tile.
Step 2 — Top Section
Place the 6/5 domino from Pink = into Blue > 2, and the 6/4 domino from Pink = down into the Orange = group. Set the 4/4 domino in the top left of the Orange = group and the 5/1 domino from Dark Blue 5 down into the first Purple = tile.
Step 3 — Middle Fill
Since the 6/4 domino is used, place the 5/5 domino into Green 10. The 4/2 domino goes from Orange = into the remaining free tile, and the 4/3 domino goes from Orange = into Dark Blue =. Then place the 3/1 domino from Dark Blue = down into Purple =.
Solution — The Tail
Place the 1/1 domino in the top left tiles of Purple = and the 1/0 domino down from Purple = into Green =. Put the 0/2 domino from Green = into the bottom Blue = tile, and finish with the 2/2 domino in the kangaroo’s tail.
If you get stuck on the bottom left, try clearing and starting from the top using the 6’s in the Pink = group — the rest will fall into place quickly.
More NYT Puzzle Guides
Looking for help with other daily NYT puzzles? Check out these related guides: