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NYT Pips Answers for April 7, 2026

NYT Pips answers for April 7, 2026, a Tuesday: 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 30-square hard one, a gap of 20 squares, with the hard board carrying 0 doubles against easy's 2 and 0 loose regions against 2. 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 2 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 = 4 region — the top left single square — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 4. 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, 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 = 4 region resolves to 4. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — easy board, April 7, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 4the top left single square4
=the top centre row of 26, 6
no rulethe top right single square0
=the middle centre row of 24, 4
= 3the bottom left row of 31, 1, 1
no rulethe bottom right single square6

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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.

25% 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 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 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 = 2 region resolves to 2. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — medium board, April 7, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 4the top left row of 31, 1, 2
< 3the top centre column of 22, 0
= 7the middle left column of 26, 1
=the middle centre column of 23, 3
< 7the middle centre row of 22, 4
= 2the bottom left single square2
=the bottom centre row of 35, 5, 5
= 4the bottom right single square4

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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

Hard — 30 squares, 15 dominoes

Almost every region here is an exact sum, which makes this an unusually arithmetic board: there is very little elimination to do and a great deal of adding up.

At 30 squares this is 15% 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.

0% 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.

The tray holds 0 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 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 = 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

Your tray holds no doubles today, which removes the usual shortcut — nothing is barred from the all-different regions on shape alone. Total pips in the tray: 75.

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, April 7, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 4the top left row of 22, 2
= 6the top centre column of 23, 3
= 2the top centre row of 21, 1
= 8the top right column of 24, 4
= 0the middle left column of 20, 0
= 1the middle centre single square1
= 10the middle centre column of 25, 5
= 0the middle centre single square0
= 8the middle centre column of 24, 4
= 0the middle centre single square0
= 4the middle centre row of 22, 2
= 2the middle left single square2
=the middle centre row of 33, 3, 3
= 9the middle right column of 25, 4
= 10the bottom left row of 25, 5
= 2the bottom centre row of 21, 1
= 0the bottom centre single square0

Every tile and the squares it covers

  • 0-1 → row 5 col 5 and row 5 col 4
  • 0-2 → row 2 col 1 and row 1 col 1
  • 0-3 → row 3 col 3 and row 2 col 3
  • 0-4 → row 3 col 1 and row 3 col 2
  • 0-5 → row 2 col 5 and row 2 col 4
  • 1-2 → row 2 col 2 and row 1 col 2
  • 1-3 → row 1 col 4 and row 1 col 3
  • 1-4 → row 1 col 5 and row 1 col 6
  • 1-5 → row 5 col 3 and row 5 col 2
  • 2-3 → row 3 col 5 and row 4 col 5
  • 2-4 → row 3 col 6 and row 2 col 6
  • 2-5 → row 4 col 1 and row 5 col 1
  • 3-4 → row 4 col 3 and row 4 col 2
  • 3-5 → row 4 col 4 and row 3 col 4
  • 4-5 → row 5 col 6 and row 4 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 April 7, 2026?
The full solution for all three boards is on this page, below the hints. Almost every region here is an exact sum, which makes this an unusually arithmetic board: there is very little elimination to do and a great deal of adding up.
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 April 7, 2026 the hard board runs 30 squares across 17 regions against the easy board’s 10 and 6, and carries 0 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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