Pips Answer for Wednesday, April 29, 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 Ian's Quick Grid
Nyt Pips easy answer for 2026-04-29
Answer for 2026-04-29
I hope you have your coffee ready because today's easy puzzle by Ian Livengood was a great way to wake up the brain. I started by looking for the most restrictive spots, which led me straight to the sum 6 constraint at cell (2,1). Since that is a single-cell region, it had to be a 6. Looking at my dominoes, the only one with a 6 was the [4,6] pair. I placed that at [2,0] and [2,1], which immediately told me that cell (2,0) was a 4. Because (1,0) and (2,0) were marked as equals, (1,0) also had to be 4.
From there, things started falling into place like a row of real dominoes! I knew cell (1,0) was part of a domino with (0,0), and the only domino left with a 4 was the [4,3] piece. That made (0,0) a 3. Since (0,0), (0,1), and (0,2) all had to be equal, I knew those two empty spots were also 3s. That meant the domino at (0,1) and (0,2) had to be the [3,3] double.
I finished up by looking at the bottom. Cell (3,2) had a less than 1 constraint, so it had to be 0. That forced the domino at (3,2) and (2,2) to be the [0,1] pair. Finally, the equals region for (1,1), (1,2), and (2,2) meant they all had to be 1, perfectly fitting the [1,1] double domino in the last remaining slot.
Navigating The Midday Maze
Nyt Pips medium answer for 2026-04-29
Answer for 2026-04-29
Rodolfo Kurchan gave us a bit more to chew on with the medium puzzle. The real breakthrough for me was the sum 10 constraint for cells (1,2) and (1,3). I looked at the dominoes and noticed I needed a combination that could reach 10, but these cells belong to different dominoes! I paired the [4,5] domino at (2,2) and (1,2) and the [5,0] domino at (1,3) and (2,3). This made (1,2) and (1,3) both 5, hitting that sum of 10 perfectly.
Working off that, I saw that the equals constraint for (2,1) and (2,2) meant (2,1) had to be a 4. I used the [0,4] domino for the connection between (3,1) and (2,1). This was a lucky guess that paid off because it made (3,1) a 0. Since (3,1) and (3,2) had to be equal, (3,2) became 0 as well. This led me to use the [0,6] domino for (3,2) and (3,3). It worked out beautifully because (3,3) ended up as 6, which satisfied the greater than 4 rule for that spot.
To wrap it all up, I had the [2,1] and [3,2] dominoes left. I placed the [3,2] domino at (1,0) and (1,1) because those two cells had to sum to less than 5. It was a tight fit, but once that last piece clicked in, the whole board was clear. It just goes to show how one big sum can anchor the whole solution!
Conquering The Hard Grid Breakthrough
Nyt Pips hard answer for 2026-04-29
Answer for 2026-04-29
The hard puzzle today was a real test of patience, but I found a great starting point at the bottom right. There was an equals constraint across cells (5,5), (5,6), and (6,6). Since (5,6) and (6,6) are a single domino, I looked for a double in my list. The [6,6] domino fit perfectly, making all three cells 6. This was a huge help because it narrowed down the options for the neighboring cells very quickly.
Next, I focused on the left side where (6,1) had to be greater than 5 and (6,2) had to be greater than 4. I used the [5,6] domino here, putting the 6 in (6,1) and the 5 in (6,2). This then helped me solve the sum of 11 for the row at the very bottom. By placing the [0,6] domino at (9,6) and (8,6), I was able to use the 6 in cell (9,6) and combine it with the [5,x] domino at (9,4) and (9,5) to reach that target 11.
I hit a small snag near the top trying to satisfy the sum of 4 for the long vertical region from (0,7) to (3,7). I eventually realized I needed to use the [1,1] and [1,0] dominoes strategically. By placing part of the [1,1] at (0,7) and (1,7) and the [1,0] at (3,7) and (2,7), the values 1, 1, 1, and 1 summed up perfectly to 4. Once that vertical pillar was done, the remaining equals regions for (1,2), (2,0), (2,1), and (2,2) all shared the value 2, which allowed me to place the [2,2] and [0,2] dominoes to finish the game.
Pro Tips for Today's Puzzle
Try to find single-cell regions first, especially ones with sum, less than, or greater than constraints, as these are usually the easiest way to find a specific number.
Also, keep an eye out for equals regions that span across two different dominoes; they act like a bridge that forces the values of both pieces to match up.
What I Learned
I learned that when you see a long region with an equals constraint, you should immediately look for any double dominoes like [3,3] or [6,6] that might fit.
Today also reminded me that the less than constraints are often the best place to start when you feel stuck on the harder levels.