About Pips Hints
A small, independent site for people who play the daily Pips puzzle and want help that does not give the whole thing away.
What Pips Hints is
Pips Hints publishes hints and answers for the three daily Pips puzzles, Easy, Medium and Hard. Instead of one block of spoilers, each board starts hidden: tap a spot to reveal only the domino that goes there, or show the full answer when you are ready. You decide how much to see.
The site also has Pips Unlimited, a practice mode with puzzles we generate ourselves, for when the daily three are done.
Who makes it
Pips Hints is an independent project run by a very small team. There is no publisher or investor behind it. The site is free, needs no account, and is paid for by advertising.
How the hints and answers are made
- Solved, not guessed. Each day's boards are run through our own solver. It checks the published solution against every rule and counts how many valid answers exist.
- Rated for difficulty. The solver works through each board the way a person would, always taking the most constrained spot next. How often it has to weigh up several options gives the “Logic” rating shown above each board.
- Specific to the board. What you reveal is the day's actual solution, shown on the day's actual board, one domino at a time.
- Honest about more than one answer. Some boards can be solved in several ways. When that is the case the page says so, and shows the official solution.
- Tested daily. Before the site updates, every stored puzzle is re-checked automatically. If a day fails the check, the update does not go out.
How Pips Unlimited works
- Original puzzles. Boards are generated in your browser. They are not copies of the daily puzzles.
- Always solvable. Every board is built from a known solution and verified by the solver. Easy and Medium boards have exactly one answer.
- Nothing leaves your device. Your solved count and last difficulty are stored in your browser only.
What we care about
- Spoilers only on request. Nothing on a hint page shows a number until you ask for it.
- Free and quick. No download, no sign-up, works on phones.
- Privacy-light. No accounts, and page-view counts that use no cookies. See the privacy policy.
Not affiliated with The New York Times
Pips is published by The New York Times Company. Pips Hints is an independent fan site and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by The New York Times Company. The official daily puzzles can only be played on their website and in the NYT Games app.
Get in touch
Found a wrong hint, a bug, or a board that looks off? See the contact page. We read every message.