Pips Answer for Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Complete NYT Pips puzzle solution with interactive board and expert analysis for Easy, Medium, and Hard difficulty levels.
Reveal by clicking a domino below OR a cell on the board
Expert Puzzle Analysis
Deep insights from puzzle experts
Warming Up With Some Simple Sums
Nyt Pips easy answer for 2026-04-28
Answer for 2026-04-28
I started today by looking at the equals constraint on the left side of the grid. Cells 1,0, 2,0, and 3,0 all had to be the same number. Since 1,0 and 2,0 were part of the same domino, I knew I needed a double from my tray. Looking at my options, the 1,1 domino was the only double that fit the bill, so that fixed those two spots and told me cell 3,0 had to be a 1 as well.
From there, things started moving fast. Since cell 3,0 had to be a 1, I grabbed the 3,1 domino for the spot at 3,1 and 3,0. This left me with the sum target of 5 at cell 3,3. I used the 5,6 domino there, which then helped me figure out the equals rule for 3,4 and 2,4. By matching the 6 in cell 3,4 with cell 2,4, the whole right side of the board finally made sense.
Finding the Rhythm in the Middle
Nyt Pips medium answer for 2026-04-28
Answer for 2026-04-28
The Medium puzzle felt a bit more like a logic chain today. I focused first on the sum target of 1 at the bottom left cell 2,0. Since it was part of a domino with cell 1,0, and cell 1,0 had to equal 1,1, I realized that the 5,1 domino was the perfect starting point. Putting the 1 in that corner meant the 5 went in cell 1,0, which forced 1,1 to also be a 5. It was a great feeling to get that first corner locked down so quickly.
The trickiest part was the less than constraint at the top of the grid. I had to balance the equals rule at 1,5 and 2,5 with the remaining dominoes in my tray. Once I decided to place the 3,3 double in that far right column, the rest of the numbers like the 2,2 double and the 0,4 domino finally fell into place. It really pays to keep an eye on your tray to see which doubles you have left as you work through the equals regions.
A Real Brain Buster to Finish the Day
Nyt Pips hard answer for 2026-04-28
Answer for 2026-04-28
Wow, this 5 by 6 grid was quite the challenge! I noticed right away that there were a lot of zeros scattered around. Cells like 0,5, 3,0, and 4,3 all had sum targets of zero, which is always my favorite place to start. I spent the first few minutes just mapping out where my blank ends could go, which helped narrow down where the larger numbers like the 4,5 and 3,5 dominoes could live.
The real breakthrough came in the center of the grid with the sum targets of 9 and 7. Since I had already used some of my higher numbers on the edges, I had to be really careful about which dominoes could actually add up to those totals. Once I realized that the 2,3 and 2,2 domino had to sit near the center to satisfy those specific sums, the rest of the board cleared up. It was a long solve, but seeing the whole grid filled with those 15 dominoes was so satisfying.
Pro Tips for Today's Puzzle
When you see an equals sign connecting cells that belong to the same domino, you know immediately that you are looking for a double.
Also, always try to fill in the zeros or sum targets of 1 first, as they have the fewest possible combinations in your domino tray. Finally, if you get stuck, count how many times a specific number appears in your remaining dominoes to see if it is forced into a certain spot.
What I Learned
Today really highlighted how useful the equals regions are for narrowing down your domino tray early on.
I also noticed that in the harder puzzles, the small sum targets like 0 and 1 are just as important as the large ones like 9 because they act as anchors for the entire grid. It was a fun lesson in looking at the extremes of the number scale to find a path forward.