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NYT Pips Answers for January 10, 2026

NYT Pips answers for January 10, 2026, a Saturday: 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 12-square easy board to a 32-square hard one, a gap of 20 squares, with the hard board carrying 3 doubles against easy's 1 and 10 loose regions against 2. Constructed by Ian Livengood.

Sukie, Puzzle editor at EnergyPips

By Sukie · Puzzle editor

Easy — 12 squares, 6 dominoes

The = 1 region is the giveaway: a target that low forces blanks and ones, and almost nothing else fits.

At 12 squares this is 21% larger than the average easy board, which runs 9.9. More squares means more placements to keep straight at once, and a mistake made early sits underneath more correct-looking work before you find it.

25% of its regions are loose against a norm of 40%, so this board is tighter than usual — more regions hand you a number outright, which is why it may have felt unusually tractable.

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 = 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: 1-1. 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 = 6 region resolves to 6. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — easy board, January 10, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 6the top left single square6
> 1the top centre single square2
=the top centre 3-square block1, 1, 1
= 1the middle centre single square1
no rulethe middle centre single square6
= 9the middle right column of 25, 4
= 3the bottom left single square3
=the bottom centre row of 20, 0

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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

Medium — 16 squares, 8 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 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.

56% of its regions are loose against a norm of 42%, so this board is vaguer than usual — there is less exact arithmetic to anchor on and more reasoning by elimination.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the = 7 region — the top centre row of 2 — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 7. Work there first because only 3 combinations of values can fill it.

Hint 2 — what your tray forces

The tray carries 2 doubles: 1-1, 0-0. 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 = 7 region resolves to 1, 6. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — medium board, January 10, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
no rulethe top left single square1
no rulethe top centre single square1
= 7the top centre row of 26, 1
> 2the middle centre row of 21, 2
no rulethe middle left single square1
=the middle right column of 30, 0, 0
> 9the middle left column of 25, 6
= 4the bottom centre row of 20, 4
= 5the bottom centre row of 23, 2

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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

Hard — 32 squares, 16 dominoes

3 doubles in a 16-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 32 squares this is 23% larger than the average hard board, which runs 26.1. More squares means more placements to keep straight at once, and a mistake made early sits underneath more correct-looking work before you find it.

53% 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.

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 middle 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, 4-4, 0-0. 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 1. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — hard board, January 10, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
< 5the top left column of 20, 0
= 1the middle centre single square1
= 6the middle centre column of 23, 3
=the middle centre 3-square block4, 4, 4
> 9the middle right column of 26, 4
= 11the middle left column of 26, 5
= 2the middle centre single square2
= 2the middle centre single square2
< 5the middle centre row of 20, 0
> 10the middle centre row of 26, 6
= 2the middle right column of 21, 1
> 2the middle centre single square3
> 2the middle centre single square3
< 4the middle centre column of 20, 0
= 4the middle centre single square4
= 1the middle centre 3-square block1, 0, 0
> 4the middle centre single square5
> 9the middle centre column of 26, 6
> 5the bottom right single square6

Every tile and the squares it covers

  • 1-3 → row 2 col 2 and row 2 col 3
  • 6-4 → row 2 col 7 and row 2 col 6
  • 0-3 → row 8 col 2 and row 7 col 2
  • 1-6 → row 6 col 7 and row 6 col 6
  • 3-2 → row 3 col 3 and row 4 col 3
  • 5-0 → row 9 col 3 and row 9 col 2
  • 6-6 → row 9 col 5 and row 10 col 5
  • 1-0 → row 7 col 7 and row 8 col 7
  • 3-6 → row 7 col 5 and row 6 col 5
  • 0-4 → row 4 col 7 and row 3 col 7
  • 5-6 → row 4 col 1 and row 3 col 1
  • 2-0 → row 4 col 5 and row 4 col 6
  • 4-4 → row 2 col 5 and row 3 col 5
  • 0-0 → row 1 col 1 and row 2 col 1
  • 1-4 → row 8 col 6 and row 8 col 5
  • 0-6 → row 9 col 7 and row 10 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 10, 2026?
The full solution for all three boards is on this page, below the hints. 3 doubles in a 16-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.
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 10, 2026 the hard board runs 32 squares across 19 regions against the easy board’s 12 and 8, and carries 10 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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