NYT Pips hints and answers, Sunday, September 20, 2026

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

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

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

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 0–0: R1C3→R2C3; 6–0: R3C4→R2C4; 3–1: R3C5→R4C5; 4–1: R3C2→R2C2; 2–4: R4C1→R3C1.

Start with the cell that must be greater than 3 at row 1, column 5. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.

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

Place the 5–6 domino with the 5 at row 2, column 5 and the 6 at row 1, column 5.

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 5–4: R4C4→R4C3; 1–6: R3C3→R3C4; 4–2: R2C1→R2C2; 2–5: R3C2→R4C2; 5–6: R2C5→R1C5; 4–4: R3C5→R4C5; 2–3: R2C3→R2C4.

Start with the cell that must be less than 2 at row 1, column 6. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.

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

Place the 5–0 domino with the 5 at row 2, column 6 and the 0 at row 1, column 6.

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 5–0: R2C6→R1C6; 2–2: R8C4→R9C4; 1–0: R1C1→R2C1; 5–5: R4C3→R4C4; 2–0: R6C5→R6C6; 5–1: R6C2→R6C3; 2–6: R7C4→R6C4; 4–1: R3C7→R2C7; 5–2: R1C4→R2C4; 0–0: R2C2→R3C2; 3–2: R4C7→R5C7; 0–6: R3C3→R3C4; 1–1: R1C8→R2C8; 0–4: R3C1→R4C1.