How To Play Pips

In Pips, you have a grid of multicolored boxes. Each colored area represents a different “condition” that you have to achieve. You have a select number of dominoes that you have to spend filling in the grid. You must use every domino and achieve every condition properly to win. There are Easy, Medium and Difficult tiers.

Here’s an example of a difficult tier Pips:

As you can see, the grid has a bunch of symbols and numbers with each color. On the far left, the three purple squares must not equal one another (hence the equal sign crossed out). The two pink squares next to that must equal a total of 0. The zig-zagging blue squares all must equal one another. You click on dominoes to rotate them, and will need to since they have to be rotated to fit where they belong.

Not shown on this grid are other conditions, such as “less than” or “greater than.” If there are multiple tiles with > or < signs, the total of those tiles must be greater or less than the listed number. It varies by grid. Blank spaces can have anything. The various possible conditions are:

• = All pips must equal one another in this group.
• ≠ All pips must not equal one another in this group.
• > The pip in this tile (or tiles) must be greater than the listed number.
• < The pip in this tile must be less than the listed number.
• An exact number (like 6) The pip must equal this exact number.
• Tiles with no conditions can be anything.

In order to win, you have to use up all your dominoes by filling in all the squares, making sure to fit each condition. Sometimes there’s only one way to solve the puzzle. Other times, there can be two or more different solutions. Play today’s Pips puzzle here.

Today’s Pips Solutions And Walkthrough

Below are the solutions for the Easy and Medium tier Pips. After that, I’ll walk you through the Hard puzzle. Spoilers ahead.

Today’s Easy Pips

Today’s Medium Pips

Hard Pips Walkthrough And Solution

Here’s today’s Hard Pips:

Today’s Hard Pips is shaped pretty much like yesterday’s and it’s just about the same challenge level, which is to say not very. I did have to juggle a couple things around, but really this one shouldn’t give you much trouble. In fact, I’m breaking one of my rules today in the walkthrough and starting with the free tiles.

Step 1

Begin by placing the 6/5 domino in the Purple 11 group and the 4/4 domino next to that in the two left Pink 12 tiles. The 4/0 domino goes from Pink 12 into the first free tile and the 0/0 domino fills up the next two free tiles.

Step 2

Next, place the 2/3 domino from Dark Blue 2 into Orange ≠ and the 1/5 domino from Blue 3 into Orange ≠. The 1/1 domino occupies the next two Blue 3 tiles and the 4/1 domino goes from Green 8 into Orange ≠.

Solution

Place the 4/2 domino from Green 8 into Purple 6 and the 4/6 domino from Orange ≠ into Pink 6. The 2/2 domino fills the remaining Purple 6 tiles and the 2/0 fills the remaining Orange ≠ tiles . . . and you’re done!

Like I said, a pretty straightforward Hard Pips. The totals groups were exactly what you’d expect: three 4’s comprise Pink 12, three 1’s comprise Blue 3, two 4’s comprise Green 8 and three 2’s comprise Purple 6. In fact, three 0’s make up the three free tiles — and the 5/6 domino filled the Purple 11. It doesn’t get much more straightforward than that, and any complications you may have run into were likely from overthinking!

How’d you do on today’s Pips?

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