NYT Pips hints and answers, Friday, September 4, 2026

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

That cell is a 6, and only one domino has a 6: the 6–4.

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

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 3–1: R1C5→R1C4; 2–2: R4C4→R4C5; 6–4: R3C3→R3C2; 0–0: R2C1→R2C2; 2–4: R3C5→R2C5.

Start with the cell that must be greater than 3 at row 3, column 6. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.

That cell is a 4, and only one domino has a 4: the 0–4.

Place the 0–4 domino with the 0 at row 3, column 5 and the 4 at row 3, column 6.

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 5–1: R2C3→R3C3; 0–4: R3C5→R3C6; 1–1: R3C1→R3C2; 3–3: R2C4→R3C4; 1–0: R4C4→R4C5; 5–5: R1C2→R2C2; 3–1: R4C2→R4C3.

Start with the cell that must equal 6 at row 4, column 6. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.

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

Place the 5–6 domino with the 5 at row 4, column 5 and the 6 at row 4, column 6.

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 2–4: R8C4→R8C5; 1–1: R7C4→R7C5; 5–5: R3C6→R3C7; 1–6: R1C6→R2C6; 5–3: R9C2→R9C1; 0–6: R2C8→R2C7; 2–5: R6C5→R5C5; 1–3: R7C6→R7C7; 0–4: R5C9→R4C9; 2–3: R9C7→R8C7; 5–6: R4C5→R4C6; 2–0: R6C6→R5C6; 3–3: R5C7→R6C7; 6–2: R9C3→R9C4; 5–0: R9C9→R9C8; 6–3: R4C8→R4C7.