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NYT Pips Answers for August 9, 2026

NYT Pips answers for August 9, 2026, a Sunday: 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 32-square hard one, a gap of 22 squares, with the hard board carrying 3 doubles against easy's 1 and 9 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 6 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.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the < 1 region — the bottom right single square — where the pips in this region must add up to less than 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 1 double: 6-6. A double is the only tile that fits wholly inside an all-equal region, and there are 4 here.

Hint 3 — the opening region's values

The < 1 region resolves to 0. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — easy board, August 9, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
=the top left row of 21, 1
> 4the top centre single square5
=the top right column of 26, 6
=the middle left column of 24, 4
=the bottom centre row of 22, 2
< 1the bottom right single square0

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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

Medium — 14 squares, 7 dominoes

A 14-square board across 8 regions, with 2 exact sums to anchor it and 4 looser regions to work around.

At 14 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.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the = 8 region — the top left column of 2 — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 8. Work there first because only 3 combinations of values can fill it.

Hint 2 — what your tray forces

The tray carries 2 doubles: 2-2, 5-5. 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 = 8 region resolves to 2, 6. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — medium board, August 9, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 8the top left column of 22, 6
= 6the top centre row of 22, 4
=the top centre row of 26, 6
< 4the top right column of 21, 1
no rulethe middle left single square3
> 2the middle right single square5
=the bottom centre row of 35, 5, 5
> 1the bottom centre single square2

Every tile and the squares it covers

  • 3-6 → row 3 col 1 and row 2 col 1
  • 2-2 → row 1 col 1 and row 1 col 2
  • 4-6 → row 1 col 3 and row 1 col 4
  • 5-5 → row 4 col 2 and row 4 col 3
  • 5-2 → row 4 col 4 and row 4 col 5
  • 5-1 → row 3 col 6 and row 2 col 6
  • 6-1 → 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 — 32 squares, 16 dominoes

3 doubles in a 16-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 32 squares this is 23% 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.

47% 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.

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 > 5 region — the top right single square — where the pips in this region must add up to more than 5. 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 3 doubles: 2-2, 4-4, 1-1. 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 > 5 region resolves to 6. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — hard board, August 9, 2026
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 8the top centre row of 26, 2
> 5the top right single square6
no rulethe middle left single square1
=the middle centre column of 24, 4
=the middle centre column of 34, 4, 4
= 0the middle left row of 20, 0
= 2the middle centre single square2
= 15the middle left row of 33, 6, 6
= 2the middle centre column of 21, 1
= 4the middle left single square4
< 4the middle centre single square3
=the middle centre row of 25, 5
> 5the middle right single square6
< 4the middle centre single square3
> 4the middle centre single square5
> 5the middle centre single square6
= 7the middle centre row of 51, 2, 1, 2, 1
< 3the bottom centre single square2
< 2the bottom centre single square1

Every tile and the squares it covers

  • 6-0 → row 4 col 2 and row 3 col 2
  • 0-1 → row 3 col 1 and row 2 col 1
  • 3-4 → row 4 col 1 and row 5 col 1
  • 1-6 → row 8 col 7 and row 7 col 7
  • 2-4 → row 3 col 7 and row 3 col 6
  • 3-6 → row 5 col 3 and row 4 col 3
  • 1-2 → row 9 col 6 and row 8 col 6
  • 6-4 → row 1 col 6 and row 2 col 6
  • 2-2 → row 8 col 4 and row 9 col 4
  • 1-3 → row 8 col 3 and row 7 col 3
  • 4-4 → row 2 col 4 and row 3 col 4
  • 1-5 → row 8 col 5 and row 7 col 5
  • 6-2 → row 1 col 8 and row 1 col 7
  • 5-4 → row 5 col 6 and row 4 col 6
  • 1-1 → row 4 col 4 and row 5 col 4
  • 5-6 → row 5 col 7 and row 5 col 8

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 August 9, 2026?
The full solution for all three boards is on this page, below the hints. 3 doubles in a 16-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 August 9, 2026 the hard board runs 32 squares across 19 regions against the easy board’s 10 and 6, and carries 9 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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