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NYT Pips Answers for May 16, 2026

NYT Pips answers for May 16, 2026, a Saturday: 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 2 doubles against easy's 2 and 6 loose regions against 3. Constructed by Ian Livengood.

Sukie, Puzzle editor at EnergyPips

By Sukie · Puzzle editor

Easy — 10 squares, 5 dominoes

60% 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 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.

60% 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 > 10 region — the middle centre row of 2 — where the pips in this region must add up to more than 10. Work there first because only 2 combinations of values can fill it.

Hint 2 — what your tray forces

The tray carries 2 doubles: 1-1, 3-3. 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 > 10 region resolves to 5, 6. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — easy board, May 16, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
=the top centre 3-square block1, 1, 1
< 3the middle centre single square2
=the middle left 3-square block3, 3, 3
> 10the middle centre row of 26, 5
no rulethe bottom centre single square2

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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

Medium — 18 squares, 9 dominoes

The = 2 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.

23% 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 = 6 region — the middle left single square — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 6. 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. 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 = 6 region resolves to 6. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — medium board, May 16, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 6the top left row of 22, 4
= 2the top centre row of 21, 1
= 10the top centre row of 26, 4
=the top centre row of 23, 3
= 6the middle left single square6
= 11the middle right column of 25, 6
= 2the middle left single square2
> 5the middle centre single square6
< 5the middle centre single square4
no rulethe bottom left single square1
= 5the bottom centre single square5
= 5the bottom centre single square5
= 5the bottom right single square5

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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

Hard — 30 squares, 15 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 11 sum regions have to carry the whole board.

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.

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 top 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: 0-0, 5-5. With 1 all-different and 2 all-equal regions 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 = 1 region resolves to 1. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — hard board, May 16, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 1the top left single square1
= 9the middle left column of 24, 5
= 2the middle centre single square2
no rulethe middle centre single square3
= 3the middle centre single square3
< 2the middle left single square0
≠the middle left 5-square block2, 4, 3, 5, 6
= 4the middle centre single square4
< 3the middle centre single square2
= 5the middle right single square5
=the middle left 6-square block0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
= 5the middle right single square5
< 3the middle left single square2
no rulethe middle centre single square6
= 4the middle centre single square4
=the middle left column of 26, 6
= 3the middle centre single square3
= 2the middle centre single square2
= 1the bottom left single square1

Every tile and the squares it covers

  • 2-3 → row 2 col 2 and row 3 col 2
  • 4-0 → row 7 col 4 and row 6 col 4
  • 6-2 → row 8 col 1 and row 7 col 1
  • 0-3 → row 6 col 1 and row 5 col 1
  • 6-0 → row 5 col 3 and row 6 col 3
  • 4-3 → row 4 col 3 and row 3 col 3
  • 2-4 → row 5 col 4 and row 4 col 4
  • 1-6 → row 10 col 1 and row 9 col 1
  • 2-5 → row 4 col 2 and row 5 col 2
  • 0-0 → row 6 col 2 and row 7 col 2
  • 3-6 → row 8 col 3 and row 7 col 3
  • 4-1 → row 2 col 1 and row 1 col 1
  • 0-5 → row 4 col 1 and row 3 col 1
  • 5-5 → row 5 col 5 and row 6 col 5
  • 2-0 → row 9 col 2 and row 8 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 May 16, 2026?
The full solution for all three boards is on this page, below the hints. 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 11 sum regions have to carry the whole 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 May 16, 2026 the hard board runs 30 squares across 19 regions against the easy board’s 10 and 5, 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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