NYT Pips Guide

Everything you need to know about NYT's addictive new logic puzzle

About NYT Pips Game

Pips is a visual logic puzzle where players arrange a set of dominoes to fill a game board. Released by The New York Times Games on August 18, 2025, it marks their first original logic puzzle.

The goal is to complete the puzzle by ensuring all conditions on the board are met—conditions that change with every game. Unlike word-based games like Wordle or Connections, NYT Pips focuses on pattern recognition and logical problem-solving.

Play Official Game on NYT

NYT Pips Rules & Mechanics

Objective

Players arrange digital dominoes on a grid to satisfy specific conditions for each region of the board.

Gameplay Mechanics

  • Place Dominoes: Drag and drop dominoes onto the grid.
  • Rotate: Tap or click a domino to spin it 90 degrees.

Regional Conditions Symbols

=

Dots in the region are the same number

≠

Dots in the region are not equal

>

Dots are greater than the given number

<

Dots are less than the given number

7

Dots must add up to this specific number

Difficulty Levels

Each day offers three distinct challenges:

  • Easy: 4-5 dominoes, perfect for beginners.
  • Medium: A balanced challenge for regular players.
  • Hard: Up to 16 dominoes for serious logic enthusiasts.

Pro Strategies & Tips

  • Constraint First: Start with the most restricted regions (fixed sums or equalities).
  • Domino Uniqueness: Remember each domino is unique; if you place [1|2], it won't appear elsewhere.
  • Work Backwards: For regions with high sum requirements, identify the limited high-value dominoes first.

Pips vs. Other NYT Games

Versus Wordle

Wordle is about vocabulary; Pips is about numerical logic. It's more akin to Sudoku but with a tactile domino twist.

Versus Connections

Connections uses linguistic patterns; Pips uses spatial and mathematical rules.