NYT Pips hints and answers, Thursday, August 27, 2026

Start with the cell that must equal 4 at row 1, column 3. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.

That cell is a 4, and only one domino has a 4: the 1–4.

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

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 3–6: R2C1→R2C2; 5–3: R3C2→R3C3; 2–6: R2C3→R2C4; 5–5: R3C4→R3C5; 1–4: R1C2→R1C3.

Start with the cell that must be greater than 4 at row 1, column 2. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.

That cell is a 6, and only one domino has a 6: the 2–6.

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

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 5–5: R3C5→R4C5; 2–2: R3C3→R3C4; 3–1: R1C3→R1C4; 2–6: R2C2→R1C2; 1–5: R1C5→R2C5; 2–4: R3C2→R3C1; 5–3: R2C4→R2C3.

Start with the cell that must equal 5 at row 2, column 3. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.

That cell is a 5. Only 5 dominoes have a 5: 5–5, 5–1, 5–4, 5–6, 3–5.

Place the 3–5 domino with the 3 at row 2, column 4 and the 5 at row 2, column 3.

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 2–0: R5C1→R6C1; 3–6: R1C4→R1C5; 5–5: R1C1→R2C1; 4–4: R1C2→R1C3; 6–6: R4C5→R5C5; 5–1: R2C6→R1C6; 3–3: R2C5→R3C5; 5–4: R3C1→R4C1; 3–1: R3C4→R3C3; 5–6: R3C6→R4C6; 3–5: R2C4→R2C3; 2–4: R5C6→R6C6; 6–1: R4C4→R4C3; 2–1: R6C5→R6C4; 3–0: R6C3→R6C2.