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NYT Pips Answers for February 20, 2026

NYT Pips answers for February 20, 2026, a Friday: 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 20-square hard one, a gap of 10 squares, with the hard board carrying 2 doubles against easy's 2 and 6 loose regions against 2. Constructed by Ian Livengood.

Sukie, Puzzle editor at EnergyPips

By Sukie · Puzzle editor

Easy — 10 squares, 5 dominoes

A 10-square board across 4 regions, with 0 exact sums to anchor it and 2 looser regions to work around.

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.

50% 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.

Hint 1 — where to start

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

Hint 2 — what your tray forces

The tray carries 2 doubles: 4-4, 6-6. 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 < 2 region resolves to 0. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — easy board, February 20, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
> 2the top left single square3
=the top centre 4-square block4, 4, 4, 4
=the top centre 4-square block6, 6, 6, 6
< 2the top right single square0

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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

Medium — 12 squares, 6 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 2 sum regions have to carry the whole board.

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.

63% 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.

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 = 11 region — the middle centre column of 2 — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 11. 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 2 doubles: 4-4, 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 = 11 region resolves to 5, 6. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — medium board, February 20, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
no rulethe top centre single square6
no rulethe middle centre single square6
> 4the middle centre single square6
=the middle centre column of 24, 4
= 11the middle centre column of 25, 6
no rulethe middle centre single square0
< 6the bottom left single square4
= 10the bottom centre row of 33, 4, 3

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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

Hard — 20 squares, 10 dominoes

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

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.

40% 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 2 doubles against a typical 3.11. Doubles are the most constrained tiles you can be dealt, so you get fewer of the free constraints doubles normally provide, and have to find your footholds elsewhere.

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 left 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 2 doubles: 2-2, 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 = 1 region resolves to 1. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — hard board, February 20, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 11the top left row of 26, 5
< 2the top centre single square1
> 2the top right single square4
= 1the middle left single square1
< 1the middle centre single square0
= 2the middle centre single square2
= 2the middle right single square2
= 3the middle centre row of 23, 0
= 3the middle centre single square3
> 3the middle centre single square6
= 4the middle left row of 23, 1
< 5the middle centre single square0
> 5the middle right single square6
=the bottom left row of 22, 2
=the bottom centre row of 21, 1

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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 February 20, 2026?
The full solution for all three boards is on this page, below the hints. The = 1 region is the giveaway: a target that low forces blanks and ones, and almost nothing else fits.
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 February 20, 2026 the hard board runs 20 squares across 15 regions against the easy board’s 10 and 4, 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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