NYT Pips hints and answers, Tuesday, August 18, 2026

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

That cell is a 1. Only 3 dominoes have a 1: 6–1, 1–1, 0–1.

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

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 6–1: R6C4→R6C3; 0–2: R6C2→R6C1; 1–1: R1C1→R1C2; 0–1: R5C2→R4C2; 0–0: R2C2→R3C2.

Start with the cell that must equal 5 at row 1, column 4. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.

That cell is a 5. Only 2 dominoes have a 5: 4–5, 5–5.

Place the 5–5 domino with the 5 at row 1, column 4 and the 5 at row 2, column 4.

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 4–5: R4C4→R5C4; 1–1: R4C2→R4C3; 5–5: R1C4→R2C4; 0–4: R2C3→R2C2; 3–6: R3C6→R3C7; 1–3: R2C5→R2C6; 6–1: R3C1→R3C2; 1–4: R4C6→R4C5.

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

That cell is a 1. Only 5 dominoes have a 1: 6–1, 1–0, 1–1, 1–4, 5–1.

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

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 6–1: R7C2→R7C1; 0–0: R8C1→R9C1; 5–5: R8C3→R9C3; 0–6: R9C5→R8C5; 5–3: R3C5→R3C6; 1–0: R5C7→R5C6; 2–6: R7C6→R7C5; 4–0: R2C5→R1C5; 1–1: R5C1→R6C1; 0–5: R6C3→R7C3; 6–6: R5C2→R5C3; 1–4: R1C1→R2C1; 3–0: R1C7→R1C6; 2–2: R2C2→R3C2; 5–1: R2C3→R1C3; 2–0: R4C5→R5C5.