NYT Pips hints and answers, Friday, October 2, 2026

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

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

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

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 1–1: R4C3→R5C3; 1–2: R4C2→R3C2; 6–3: R2C1→R3C1; 6–1: R1C1→R1C2; 5–5: R6C2→R6C3.

Start with the cell that must equal 0 at row 3, column 5. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.

That cell is a 0, and only one domino has a 0: the 0–5.

Place the 0–5 domino with the 0 at row 3, column 5 and the 5 at row 2, column 5.

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 2–1: R5C2→R4C2; 3–3: R1C4→R2C4; 5–2: R3C4→R4C4; 0–5: R3C5→R2C5; 1–4: R3C2→R3C1; 5–3: R3C3→R4C3; 2–2: R2C2→R2C3.

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

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

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

Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 4–6: R5C4→R6C4; 3–3: R4C2→R5C2; 2–3: R4C4→R4C5; 1–3: R6C1→R5C1; 1–0: R6C2→R6C3; 2–0: R2C2→R3C2; 1–5: R1C6→R1C5; 4–2: R5C6→R6C6; 3–6: R3C6→R4C6; 5–5: R1C4→R2C4; 5–6: R2C5→R2C6; 4–5: R4C1→R3C1; 2–5: R1C1→R2C1; 2–2: R1C2→R1C3; 5–0: R5C5→R6C5.