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NYT Pips Answers for January 26, 2026

NYT Pips answers for January 26, 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 12-square easy board to a 20-square hard one, a gap of 8 squares, with the hard board carrying 4 doubles against easy's 1 and 5 loose regions against 6. Constructed by Ian Livengood.

Sukie, Puzzle editor at EnergyPips

By Sukie · Puzzle editor

Easy — 12 squares, 6 dominoes

86% of the regions on this board are loose — comparisons or unconstrained — so there is little to calculate from and most of the work is deciding where tiles cannot go.

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.

86% of its regions are loose against a norm of 40%, 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 30, against a median of 5 across every board published. A high target forces large values into a small space, which narrows the options just as sharply from the other direction.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the > 5 region — the middle right single square — where the pips in this region must add up to more than 5. 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: 5-5. Neither all-equal nor all-different regions appear today, so the doubles are unusually free — place them last.

Hint 3 — the opening region's values

The > 5 region resolves to 6. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — easy board, January 26, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
< 3the top left single square2
= 30the top centre 6-square block5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
< 2the top right single square1
> 4the middle left single square5
> 5the middle right single square6
> 3the bottom left single square4
no rulethe bottom right single square3

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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

Medium — 12 squares, 6 dominoes

A 12-square board across 7 regions, with 2 exact sums to anchor it and 2 looser regions to work around.

At 12 squares this is 19% smaller than the average medium board, which runs 14.8. A smaller grid is more forgiving: a bad tile is fewer undos away from being fixed.

29% 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.

Its tightest sum target is 10, against a median of 5 across every board published. A high target forces large values into a small space, which narrows the options just as sharply from the other direction.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the = 10 region — the top right column of 2 — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 10. Work there first because only 2 combinations of values can fill it.

Hint 2 — what your tray forces

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

Hint 3 — the opening region's values

The = 10 region resolves to 4, 6. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — medium board, January 26, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
=the top left row of 22, 2
=the top centre column of 20, 0
= 10the top right column of 26, 4
< 4the middle left single square0
no rulethe middle centre single square5
=the bottom left row of 22, 2
= 10the bottom centre row of 26, 4

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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

Hard — 20 squares, 10 dominoes

4 doubles in a 10-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 20 squares this is 23% 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.

45% 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.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the > 4 region — the top centre single square — where the pips in this region must add up to more than 4. Work there first because only 2 combinations of values can fill it.

Hint 2 — what your tray forces

The tray carries 4 doubles: 6-6, 2-2, 4-4, 3-3. With 1 all-different and 1 all-equal region on the board, those doubles are barred from the former and are the only tiles that fit wholly inside the latter — which usually pins two of them before you make a real decision.

Hint 3 — the opening region's values

The > 4 region resolves to 6. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — hard board, January 26, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
> 4the top centre single square6
=the top centre column of 26, 6
= 5the middle centre column of 21, 4
no rulethe middle centre single square2
≠the middle centre 4-square block4, 1, 2, 3
= 6the middle centre column of 22, 4
= 9the middle centre column of 23, 6
= 9the middle centre column of 25, 4
= 4the middle centre column of 24, 0
< 3the bottom left single square1
< 2the bottom right single square1

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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 26, 2026?
The full solution for all three boards is on this page, below the hints. 4 doubles in a 10-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 26, 2026 the hard board runs 20 squares across 11 regions against the easy board’s 12 and 7, and carries 5 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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