Pips Answer for Friday, January 23, 2026
Complete NYT Pips puzzle solution with interactive board and expert analysis.
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Nyt Pips easy answer for 2026-01-23
Answer for 2026-01-23
I tackled today's Pips set by Ian Livengood and Rodolfo Kurchan starting with the Easy puzzle, which was a great warm-up. I always look for the big numbers first, so the Sum 9 regions at the top and middle were my starting points.
I saw that the combination of 4 and 5 or 3 and 6 had to fit there. The 'Equals' constraint at the bottom (3,0) and (3,1) was the real key; once I realized those had to be 0 to accommodate the [5,0] and [0,3] dominoes, the whole left side of the board just clicked into place.
Nyt Pips medium answer for 2026-01-23
Answer for 2026-01-23
For the Medium puzzle, the 'less than 1' rule at (0,2) was a total gift—it had to be a 0. That pinned the [6,0] domino vertically, which then set off a chain reaction for the 'Equals' region spanning (1,2) to (1,4).
Since I knew (1,2) was a 6, the other two had to be 6 as well, which meant the [6,6] double domino was locked in. The
Nyt Pips hard answer for 2026-01-23
Answer for 2026-01-23
Hard puzzle by Kurchan was definitely the main event. I spotted the Sum 10 right in the middle, and since [5,5] was on the domino list, I placed it immediately.
The most challenging part was the bottom edge where Sum 9 and Sum 3 overlapped. I had to visualize how the [6,1] and [2,3] dominoes could share those pips to satisfy both math rules at once. It took a bit of mental juggling, but once the pips were aligned, the remaining pieces like the [3,3] and [1,1] doubles fell right into their empty slots.
What I Learned
Today's puzzles really highlighted how powerful 'Equals' regions can be when they contain more than two cells. In the Medium puzzle, that triple-cell region acted as a bridge that connected the top and bottom halves of the board.
I also learned a tricky move on the Hard puzzle: sometimes an 'empty' region is actually the most constrained spot because it's surrounded by high-value sums. I had to save my [0,0] and [1,1] dominoes for those empty spots near the end to make sure I didn't accidentally break the math in the Sum 7 and Sum 5 areas.