NYT Pips hints and answers, Monday, August 17, 2026

Start with the cell that must be less than 1 at row 1, column 1. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.

That cell is a 0. Only 2 dominoes have a 0: 1–0, 0–6.

Place the 0–6 domino with the 0 at row 1, column 1 and the 6 at row 1, column 2.

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 6–1: R2C3→R3C3; 1–0: R3C2→R3C1; 2–6: R1C4→R1C3; 0–6: R1C1→R1C2; 5–4: R2C4→R3C4.

Start with the cell that must be greater than 3 at row 4, column 2. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.

That cell is a 6, and only one domino has a 6: the 6–0.

Place the 6–0 domino with the 6 at row 4, column 2 and the 0 at row 3, column 2.

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 2–3: R2C3→R2C2; 6–0: R4C2→R3C2; 5–5: R4C5→R4C6; 0–0: R2C1→R3C1; 2–2: R1C4→R2C4; 0–5: R3C4→R4C4; 5–2: R4C3→R3C3.

Start with the cell that must equal 4 at row 7, column 3. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.

That cell is a 4. Only 3 dominoes have a 4: 0–4, 1–4, 2–4.

Place the 1–4 domino with the 1 at row 7, column 2 and the 4 at row 7, column 3.

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 0–2: R5C1→R4C1; 0–3: R6C1→R7C1; 0–4: R1C3→R1C4; 0–5: R1C2→R1C1; 0–6: R3C4→R2C4; 1–1: R5C8→R6C8; 1–3: R5C7→R5C6; 1–4: R7C2→R7C3; 1–5: R6C6→R7C6; 1–6: R7C8→R7C7; 2–2: R6C4→R7C4; 2–4: R5C4→R4C4; 2–6: R3C1→R2C1.