Skip to content
Pips

NYT Pips Answers for April 21, 2026

NYT Pips answers for April 21, 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 12-square easy board to a 26-square hard one, a gap of 14 squares, with the hard board carrying 4 doubles against easy's 2 and 2 loose regions against 2. Constructed by Ian Livengood.

Sukie, Puzzle editor at EnergyPips

By Sukie · Puzzle editor

Easy — 12 squares, 6 dominoes

The = 0 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.

Its tightest sum target is 0, 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 = 17 region — the top left column of 3 — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 17. 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, 0-0. 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 = 17 region resolves to 5, 6, 6. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — easy board, April 21, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 17the top left column of 36, 5, 6
= 9the top centre row of 34, 4, 1
no rulethe middle right single square2
= 0the middle left row of 40, 0, 0, 0
< 6the bottom right single square5

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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

Medium — 18 squares, 9 dominoes

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

At 18 squares this is 22% larger than the average medium board, which runs 14.8. 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.

22% 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 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 = 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 2 doubles: 2-2, 6-6. 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 = 1 region resolves to 1. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — medium board, April 21, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
=the top left column of 25, 5
= 8the top centre row of 42, 2, 2, 2
< 2the top right single square0
= 8the middle left column of 24, 4
= 1the middle centre single square1
=the middle centre 3-square block6, 6, 6
= 5the bottom left row of 22, 3
=the bottom centre row of 20, 0
no rulethe bottom centre single square1

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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

Hard — 26 squares, 13 dominoes

A 7-square all-different region is the standout feature — with only seven pip values in existence, a region that size eliminates the overwhelming majority of combinations and is the fastest way into this hard board.

At 26 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 = 4 region — the middle 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 4 doubles: 4-4, 5-5, 1-1, 6-6. 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 4. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — hard board, April 21, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
=the top centre row of 24, 4
= 2the top centre row of 21, 1
= 4the middle left single square4
≠the middle left 7-square block0, 4, 1, 6, 5, 2, 3
= 6the middle centre single square6
= 0the middle right single square0
= 12the middle right column of 33, 4, 5
< 2the middle centre single square1
= 10the middle left column of 25, 5
= 12the middle right column of 26, 6
= 9the bottom left row of 24, 5
= 6the bottom centre row of 23, 3

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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 21, 2026?
The full solution for all three boards is on this page, below the hints. A 7-square all-different region is the standout feature — with only seven pip values in existence, a region that size eliminates the overwhelming majority of combinations and is the fastest way into this hard board.
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 21, 2026 the hard board runs 26 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.

Keep reading

Or go back to today's pips puzzle.