Pips Answer for Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Complete NYT Pips puzzle solution with interactive board and expert analysis.
Click a domino below or a cell on the board to reveal
Expert Puzzle Analysis
Deep insights from puzzle experts
Nyt Pips easy answer for 2026-02-04
Answer for 2026-02-04
I started by looking at the domino pool for each difficulty to see which numbers were available. For the Easy puzzle, I focused on the sum region with a target of 1, which heavily restricted which tiles could be placed in those first few rows.
I then worked around the empty cells, which act as natural barriers, to fit the remaining dominoes like the 5-2 and 1-5 combinations. Moving to the
Nyt Pips medium answer for 2026-02-04
Answer for 2026-02-04
Medium puzzle, I prioritized the sum of 8 and the equality regions.
Since 8 is a high sum for two cells, it narrowed down my options to the larger dominoes immediately. I used the empty cells in the middle of the grid to split the board into manageable sections.
Nyt Pips hard answer for 2026-02-04
Answer for 2026-02-04
For the Hard puzzle, I led with the 'greater than' hints. These are great anchors because they tell you exactly where your high-value pips need to go.
I then connected the dots between the various sum-of-seven regions, making sure the dominoes I picked shared the right values to satisfy the neighboring constraints. By the time I got to the last few pieces, the board was so crowded that only one or two configurations worked.
What I Learned
Today's puzzles really highlighted how important the 'empty' cells are for defining the board's flow. They aren't just dead space; they actually dictate the orientation of the dominoes next to them.
I also noticed a pattern in the Hard puzzle where the sum-of-seven regions were placed in a way that forced you to use almost all the high-value pips from the domino pool early on. Learning to spot these 'bottleneck' areas saves a lot of time compared to just guessing where the tiles go.