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NYT Pips Answers for January 5, 2026

NYT Pips answers for January 5, 2026, a Monday: hints first, then the full solution for the easy, medium and hard boards. Take the hints in order and stop when you have enough — nothing below is revealed until you open it.

Today's set runs from a 10-square easy board to a 22-square hard one, a gap of 12 squares, with the hard board carrying 5 doubles against easy's 1 and 6 loose regions against 3. Constructed by Ian Livengood.

Sukie, Puzzle editor at EnergyPips

By Sukie · Puzzle editor

Easy — 10 squares, 5 dominoes

Two or more regions carry no rule at all today, which sounds generous and is not: unconstrained squares give you nothing to reason from, so the 3 sum regions have to carry the whole board.

At 10 squares this is a typical easy board — the average is 9.9 — so nothing about its size explains an unusually long or short solve.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the = 6 region — the top left single square — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 6. Work there first because exactly one combination of values can fill it, so it is fully forced before you place anything.

Hint 2 — what your tray forces

The tray carries 1 double: 6-6. A double is the only tile that fits wholly inside an all-equal region, and there is one here.

Hint 3 — the opening region's values

The = 6 region resolves to 6. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — easy board, January 5, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 6the top left single square6
=the top centre column of 22, 2
> 3the top right single square4
no rulethe middle left single square0
= 12the middle right column of 26, 6
no rulethe bottom left single square1
= 11the bottom centre row of 25, 6

Every tile and the squares it covers

  • 6-6 → row 3 col 3 and row 4 col 3
  • 1-5 → row 4 col 1 and row 4 col 2
  • 6-4 → row 2 col 3 and row 1 col 3
  • 6-2 → row 1 col 1 and row 1 col 2
  • 2-0 → row 2 col 2 and row 2 col 1

Rows and columns are counted from the top-left of the board, starting at 1.

Medium — 16 squares, 8 dominoes

3 doubles in a 8-tile tray is a lot, and doubles are the most constrained tiles you can be dealt. Placing them first is not a preference today, it is the route through.

At 16 squares this is a typical medium board — the average is 14.8 — so nothing about its size explains an unusually long or short solve.

22% of its regions are loose against a norm of 42%, so this board is tighter than usual — more regions hand you a number outright, which is why it may have felt unusually tractable.

The tray holds 3 doubles against a typical 1.79. Doubles are the most constrained tiles you can be dealt, so this board hands you more forced placements than usual — an advantage, if you look for them first.

Its tightest sum target is 1, against a median of 5 across every board published. A target that low forces blanks and low values, and is usually the fastest way in.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the = 1 region — the top centre single square — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 1. Work there first because exactly one combination of values can fill it, so it is fully forced before you place anything.

Hint 2 — what your tray forces

The tray carries 3 doubles: 6-6, 0-0, 4-4. A double is the only tile that fits wholly inside an all-equal region, and there are 2 here.

Hint 3 — the opening region's values

The = 1 region resolves to 1. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — medium board, January 5, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 1the top centre single square1
no rulethe middle centre single square4
= 6the middle centre row of 20, 6
= 6the middle centre single square6
=the middle centre 4-square block0, 0, 0, 0
= 1the middle left single square1
= 10the middle centre 3-square block2, 4, 4
=the bottom centre row of 26, 6
< 4the bottom right single square3

Every tile and the squares it covers

  • 0-4 → row 2 col 3 and row 2 col 2
  • 6-6 → row 4 col 4 and row 4 col 5
  • 1-2 → row 3 col 1 and row 3 col 2
  • 1-6 → row 1 col 4 and row 2 col 4
  • 0-0 → row 3 col 4 and row 3 col 5
  • 0-6 → row 2 col 6 and row 2 col 5
  • 0-3 → row 3 col 6 and row 4 col 6
  • 4-4 → row 4 col 2 and row 4 col 3

Rows and columns are counted from the top-left of the board, starting at 1.

Hard — 22 squares, 11 dominoes

Two or more regions carry no rule at all today, which sounds generous and is not: unconstrained squares give you nothing to reason from, so the 6 sum regions have to carry the whole board.

At 22 squares this is 16% smaller than the average hard board, which runs 26.1. A smaller grid is more forgiving: a bad tile is fewer undos away from being fixed.

46% of its regions are loose against a norm of 29%, so this board is vaguer than usual — there is less exact arithmetic to anchor on and more reasoning by elimination.

The tray holds 5 doubles against a typical 3.11. Doubles are the most constrained tiles you can be dealt, so this board hands you more forced placements than usual — an advantage, if you look for them first.

Its tightest sum target is 1, against a median of 4 across every board published. A target that low forces blanks and low values, and is usually the fastest way in.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the < 1 region — the top centre single square — where the pips in this region must add up to less than 1. Work there first because exactly one combination of values can fill it, so it is fully forced before you place anything.

Hint 2 — what your tray forces

The tray carries 5 doubles: 1-1, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 2-2. A double is the only tile that fits wholly inside an all-equal region, and there is one here.

Hint 3 — the opening region's values

The < 1 region resolves to 0. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — hard board, January 5, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 11the top left column of 34, 4, 3
< 1the top centre single square0
= 11the top centre row of 25, 6
no rulethe top right single square1
no rulethe middle centre single square1
> 1the middle centre single square5
=the middle centre 3-square block2, 2, 2
no rulethe middle centre single square1
= 11the middle centre column of 35, 3, 3
= 1the middle left column of 21, 0
no rulethe middle centre single square1
= 11the bottom centre row of 26, 5
= 1the bottom centre single square1

Every tile and the squares it covers

  • 1-1 → row 3 col 4 and row 4 col 4
  • 5-2 → row 3 col 6 and row 3 col 7
  • 1-0 → row 2 col 4 and row 1 col 4
  • 3-3 → row 4 col 6 and row 5 col 6
  • 0-6 → row 5 col 1 and row 5 col 2
  • 4-4 → row 1 col 1 and row 2 col 1
  • 5-1 → row 5 col 3 and row 5 col 4
  • 5-5 → row 1 col 6 and row 2 col 6
  • 3-1 → row 3 col 1 and row 4 col 1
  • 2-2 → row 2 col 8 and row 3 col 8
  • 1-6 → row 1 col 8 and row 1 col 7

Rows and columns are counted from the top-left of the board, starting at 1.

Questions about this day

What is the answer to NYT Pips on January 5, 2026?
The full solution for all three boards is on this page, below the hints. Two or more regions carry no rule at all today, which sounds generous and is not: unconstrained squares give you nothing to reason from, so the 6 sum regions have to carry the whole board.
Can I see a hint without seeing the whole answer?
Yes. Each difficulty has three hints in order — where to start, what your tray forces, then the values in the opening region — each behind its own disclosure, with the full solution last. Nothing is revealed until you open it.
Are these the official New York Times boards?
The puzzle data is the Times’ own, and this page reports and explains the solution. EnergyPips is not affiliated with The New York Times, and the boards are not reproduced here to play — to play, go to the Times. To play a free daily domino puzzle of our own, the rest of this site is that.
Why is the hard board harder than the easy one?
On January 5, 2026 the hard board runs 22 squares across 13 regions against the easy board’s 10 and 7, and carries 6 regions that give you no exact number to work from.

About these answers

EnergyPips is an independent site and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to The New York Times. This page reports and explains the solution to a published puzzle, constructed by Ian Livengood — the board itself is not reproduced here to play. To play it, go to the Times. To play a free daily domino puzzle of our own making, with a full archive, start here.

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