Pips Answer Today (Wednesday, May 13, 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
Starting My Day With a Little Math
Nyt Pips easy answer for today
Answer for 2026-05-13
I started today by looking at that huge sum region in the middle that needed to hit 25. Since there were only five spots to work with at (1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (2,2), and (2,3), I knew I had to use my heaviest hitters. I looked at my tray and saw the [5,5] and [5,6] dominoes immediately. Placing the [5,5] domino in the bottom right corner across (2,2) and (2,3) helped me get a big chunk of that sum out of the way right from the start.
Next, I had to figure out how to handle the empty cells at (0,2) and (2,1). These act as little roadblocks, so I used the [5,2] domino to fill (1,2) and (0,2). This finished off the big sum region perfectly once I added the [0,5] and [2,3] pieces. The equals constraint between (1,0) and (2,0) was the final piece of the puzzle, and using the [2,3] domino to connect them made everything balance out. It felt so good to see those numbers finally click into place!
Navigating the Middle Ground
Nyt Pips medium answer for today
Answer for 2026-05-13
The medium puzzle today had some tricky less than constraints that really made me think twice. The longest region stretching across (1,0) to (1,3) had to total less than 4. With four cells in that space, I knew they mostly had to be 0s and 1s. I started by placing the [0,1] domino at (1,1) and (0,1) to keep the numbers low. This helped me clear up the top of the board so I could focus on the harder sum at the bottom.
That sum region needing 13 at (2,0), (2,1), and (2,2) was my next target. I used the [6,1] and [6,5] dominoes to reach that high total. The most satisfying part was solving the equals constraints at the bottom. By placing the [6,4] domino across (3,3) and (3,2), and the [1,2] domino at (1,2) and (0,2), the whole grid just started to make sense. It was all about balancing the low values at the top with the big numbers at the bottom.
The Ultimate Tiling Challenge
Nyt Pips hard answer for today
Answer for 2026-05-13
Today's hard puzzle from Rodolfo Kurchan was a real brain-burner. Instead of big regions, almost every single cell had its own target value. It felt like I was putting together a very specific jigsaw puzzle. I started by scanning for the rarest pieces. I saw that (3,5) and (4,5) both needed high values, so I placed the [4,5] domino there. Then I looked for the 0s at (0,3) and (1,1), which are always great anchors because they limit your options so much.
The real breakthrough happened when I realized how the [1,3] and [1,4] dominoes had to sit to satisfy the targets at (2,3) and (1,4). I spent a lot of time double-checking my remaining domino list because it is so easy to accidentally use the same pips twice. Once I got the [0,1] domino placed at (0,0) and (0,1), the rest of the board finally fell into line. It was a slow process of elimination, but finishing it felt like a huge victory.
Pro Tips for Today's Puzzle
Always start with the regions that have the largest or smallest target sums because they have the fewest possible combinations of pips.
It also helps to keep a mental or physical checklist of the dominoes you have used so you do not get stuck trying to use a piece that is already on the board. If you find an empty cell, treat it like a wall that helps you define the shape of the dominoes around it.
What I Learned
I learned that when a puzzle gives a target for every single cell, it completely changes your strategy from calculation to pattern matching.
It makes the list of available dominoes your most important tool. I also noticed how helpful the equals constraints are in the medium puzzle for bridging two different sections of the board, acting like a pivot point for the whole layout.