NYT Pips hints and answers, Monday, September 21, 2026

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

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

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

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 1–1: R1C3→R1C4; 1–5: R2C1→R2C2; 6–1: R2C6→R2C5; 1–0: R3C5→R3C4; 5–5: R3C2→R3C3.

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

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

Place the 6–2 domino with the 6 at row 1, column 3 and the 2 at row 1, column 4.

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 4–1: R3C4→R3C3; 0–0: R1C1→R1C2; 6–2: R1C3→R1C4; 4–4: R2C4→R2C5; 1–0: R2C3→R2C2; 5–5: R3C5→R4C5; 2–2: R2C6→R3C6.

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

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

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

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 0–1: R3C6→R3C7; 0–4: R1C6→R1C5; 0–5: R1C7→R1C8; 0–6: R2C6→R2C7; 1–5: R1C3→R1C4; 1–6: R1C9→R2C9; 2–5: R3C2→R3C1; 3–3: R2C3→R3C3; 3–6: R4C3→R4C4; 4–4: R4C7→R4C8; 4–6: R4C9→R3C9; 5–5: R2C4→R3C4; 5–6: R2C1→R1C1; 6–6: R4C5→R4C6.