NYT Pips hints and answers, Thursday, September 24, 2026

Start with the cell that must be greater than 5 at row 1, column 7. 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 7 and the 6 at row 1, column 7.

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 2–5: R2C6→R1C6; 1–0: R2C3→R3C3; 0–2: R3C2→R3C1; 2–6: R2C7→R1C7; 3–2: R2C4→R2C5.

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

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

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

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 0–0: R3C6→R3C7; 0–1: R2C6→R1C6; 1–5: R3C5→R4C5; 3–3: R1C3→R2C3; 6–2: R3C3→R3C2; 6–3: R3C4→R4C4; 5–0: R2C1→R2C2; 4–1: R2C7→R1C7.

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. Only 3 dominoes have a 4: 4–4, 4–6, 4–3.

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

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 2–3: R2C7→R3C7; 4–4: R5C9→R6C9; 0–1: R2C5→R1C5; 4–6: R1C3→R1C2; 2–2: R3C3→R4C3; 4–3: R3C5→R3C6; 5–2: R3C1→R3C2; 6–0: R1C1→R2C1; 5–3: R6C2→R6C1; 0–0: R4C5→R5C5; 5–5: R5C3→R6C3; 2–1: R1C6→R1C7; 0–5: R7C8→R6C8; 6–6: R5C7→R6C7; 6–1: R9C8→R8C8.