“Match the Pips!” February 2, 2026 NYT Pips Puzzle Hints & Answers

Stuck on today’s NYT Pips puzzle? Don’t worry! Today’s domino-style challenge has three difficulty levels, and we’ve got all the hints and answers you need.

Today’s Theme: Color-coded domino matching with numerical conditions across Easy, Medium, and Hard levels.

Quick Answer Summary

• Easy Mode: 5 color-coded spaces to solve
• Medium Mode: 7 challenging conditions
• Hard Mode: 14 complex puzzle sections

How to Play NYT Pips

Pips is like dominoes with a twist. Place tiles horizontally or vertically, but instead of matching numbers, you follow color-coded rules:

• Number: All pips must add up to the shown number
• Equal: Every domino half must be identical
• Not Equal: All halves must be different
• Less/Greater Than: Pips must be below/above the number

Easy Mode Answers (Feb 2)

1. Number (3): Place 3-0 horizontally
2. Number (3): Use 3-0, 2-4, and 1-5 (all horizontal)
3. Greater Than (4): Place 1-5 horizontally
4. Equal (3): Use 3-3 vertically
5. Number (0): Place 2-0 horizontally

Medium Mode Answers (Feb 2)

1. Equal (2): 2-2 horizontal
2. Equal (1): 1-0 and 1-2 (both vertical)
3. Equal (0): 1-0 vertical, 0-3 horizontal
4. Number (8): 0-3 and 5-2 (both horizontal)
5. Greater Than (8): 0-6 and 4-2 horizontal
6. Greater Than (0) – Purple: 5-2 horizontal
7. Greater Than (0) – Blue: 4-2 horizontal

Hard Mode Answers (Feb 2)

1. Number (1): 1-3 horizontal
2. Number (8): 4-4 horizontal
3. Equal (3): 3-3 horizontal
4. Number (9): 5-2 and 2-1 (both vertical)
5. Less Than (2) – Light Blue: 2-1 vertical
6. Number (3): 3-4 horizontal
7. Number (9): 3-4 and 5-0 horizontal
8. Less Than (2) – Green: 5-0 horizontal
9. Number (9): 3-6 horizontal
10. Number (1): 0-1 vertical
11. Less Than (2): 3-0, 0-0, 0-1 (all vertical)
12. Number (9) – Orange: 3-0 vertical
13. Number (9) – Light Blue: 2-6, 2-2, 5-3 horizontal
14. Greater Than (4): 5-3 horizontal

Pro Tips

• Start with single-number conditions—they’re easiest to solve
• Color-coded spaces can overlap tiles (only half needs to fit)
• Work through difficulty levels in order to build your skills

Good luck with tomorrow’s puzzle!