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NYT Pips Answers for March 30, 2026

NYT Pips answers for March 30, 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 28-square hard one, a gap of 16 squares, with the hard board carrying 4 doubles against easy's 3 and 2 loose regions against 1. Constructed by Ian Livengood.

Sukie, Puzzle editor at EnergyPips

By Sukie · Puzzle editor

Easy — 12 squares, 6 dominoes

3 doubles in a 6-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 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.

20% 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.

The tray holds 3 doubles against a typical 1.33. 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.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the = 10 region — the bottom left row 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 3 doubles: 4-4, 5-5, 1-1. 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 = 10 region resolves to 5, 5. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — easy board, March 30, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 13the top centre column of 36, 4, 3
=the top centre column of 20, 0
> 3the middle centre single square4
= 4the middle centre 4-square block1, 1, 1, 1
= 10the bottom left row of 25, 5

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

The = 2 region is the giveaway: a target that low forces blanks and ones, and almost nothing else fits.

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.

50% 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 2, 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 = 2 region — the bottom left single square — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 2. 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: 2-2. 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 = 2 region resolves to 2. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — medium board, March 30, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
< 4the top left column of 23, 0
=the top centre row of 20, 0
=the top centre row of 22, 2
< 3the top right single square1
> 4the middle left single square6
> 4the middle right single square6
=the middle centre 3-square block2, 2, 2
= 2the bottom left single square2
= 7the bottom centre row of 23, 4
no rulethe bottom centre single square1

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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

Hard — 28 squares, 14 dominoes

4 doubles in a 14-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 28 squares this is a typical hard board — the average is 26.1 — so nothing about its size explains an unusually long or short solve.

17% of its regions are loose against a norm of 29%, 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 0, 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 = 0 region — the middle centre 3-square block — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 0. 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 4 doubles: 4-4, 2-2, 0-0, 1-1. 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 = 0 region resolves to 0, 0, 0. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — hard board, March 30, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
> 8the top left column of 25, 6
= 3the top centre row of 41, 1, 1, 0
= 5the top right column of 22, 3
= 2the middle left column of 21, 1
= 8the middle centre row of 23, 5
> 8the middle right column of 26, 5
= 9the middle left column of 24, 5
= 3the middle centre row of 22, 1
=the middle right column of 34, 4, 4
= 2the middle centre column of 22, 0
= 0the middle centre 3-square block0, 0, 0
= 6the bottom left row of 22, 4

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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 March 30, 2026?
The full solution for all three boards is on this page, below the hints. 4 doubles in a 14-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 March 30, 2026 the hard board runs 28 squares across 12 regions against the easy board’s 12 and 5, and carries 2 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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