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 surprisingly challenging. Partly, this is because there really is no obvious starting point. There are also several dominoes with the right number of pips to fulfill either of the larger = groups, which led to a bunch of trial and error on my part. 1’s, 2’s or 3’s could work in Pink = or Green = and we’ll need all three to fill in those and Purple =. Let’s begin.

Step 1

Start with the 2/0 domino from Blue 2 into Orange < 2 and the 0/5 domino from Orange < 2 down into Purple 10. The 5/3 domino goes from Purple 10 down into Green = and the 3/3 domino goes in the middle-top tiles of Green =. Finally, place the 3/1 domino from Green = over into Pink =.

Step 2

Place the 1/0 domino from Pink = into Purple < 6 and the 5/5 domino below that in Dark Blue 10. The 1/1 domino goes in the next two Pink = tiles and the 1/4 domino goes below that, from Pink = into Green =. Place the 3/2 domino from Blue 3 down into Orange 2.

Solution

Next, place the 0/4 domino from Orange 2 down into Green = and the 4/2 domino from Green = into Purple =. The 2/2 domino goes in the next two Purple = tiles and the 2/6 domino goes from Purple = up into Dark Blue 6. Finish this Pips off with the 0/3 domino from Dark Blue = up into Green = and you’re done!

This was an exceptionally difficult Hard Pips. Either that, or I was just tired and not thinking clearly. Whatever the case, I got there in the end!

How’d you do on today’s Pips?

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