NYT Pips hints and answers, Friday, August 28, 2026

Start with the cell that must equal 2 at row 1, column 3. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.

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

Place the 2–0 domino with the 2 at row 1, column 3 and the 0 at row 1, column 2.

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 0–0: R2C2→R3C2; 3–2: R3C1→R2C1; 0–5: R2C3→R2C4; 2–0: R1C3→R1C2; 1–1: R3C3→R4C3.

Start with the cell that must equal 3 at row 1, column 2. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.

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

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

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 1–3: R4C3→R4C2; 0–4: R1C5→R1C4; 3–3: R1C2→R1C3; 6–4: R2C5→R2C4; 3–5: R2C3→R3C3; 6–1: R3C2→R3C1; 5–4: R4C4→R3C4.

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

That cell is a 1. Only 5 dominoes have a 1: 6–1, 4–1, 3–1, 1–2, 1–0.

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

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 3–5: R1C7→R2C7; 6–1: R1C5→R1C6; 0–2: R4C8→R3C8; 4–1: R1C3→R1C2; 0–6: R2C5→R2C6; 3–1: R3C1→R4C1; 5–2: R1C4→R2C4; 4–0: R1C8→R2C8; 1–2: R4C2→R4C3; 0–0: R1C1→R2C1; 5–6: R2C2→R2C3; 1–0: R4C6→R4C7; 5–0: R4C4→R4C5.