NYT Pips Answers for September 16, 2026
NYT Pips answers for September 16, 2026, a Wednesday: 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 26-square hard one, a gap of 16 squares, with the hard board carrying 4 doubles against easy's 1 and 2 loose regions against 6. Constructed by Ian Livengood.
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 0 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.
75% 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.
Where the information is on this board
Ordered from most constrained to least — which is the order worth working them in. No values are given away here, only how much each region can tell you.
- < 1 (the bottom left single square) — the pips in this region must add up to less than 1 — and exactly one combination of values satisfies it, so it is forced.
- > 4 (the middle left single square) — the pips in this region must add up to more than 4. 2 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- < 4 (the middle right single square) — the pips in this region must add up to less than 4. 4 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- < 6 (the bottom right single square) — the pips in this region must add up to less than 6. 6 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- no rule (the top left single square) — No rule. A single free square — useful as somewhere to park a value the constrained regions cannot take.
- no rule (the top right single square) — No rule. A single free square — useful as somewhere to park a value the constrained regions cannot take.
- = (the middle centre row of 2) — every pip value in this region must be the same. 7 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- = (the bottom centre row of 2) — every pip value in this region must be the same. 7 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
Hint 1 — where to start
Start with the < 1 region — the bottom left 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: 4-4. 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 < 1 region resolves to 0. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.
Full answer — easy board, September 16, 2026
| Region | Where | Values |
|---|---|---|
| no rule | the top left single square | 1 |
| no rule | the top right single square | 1 |
| > 4 | the middle left single square | 6 |
| < 4 | the middle right single square | 0 |
| = | the middle centre row of 2 | 4, 4 |
| < 1 | the bottom left single square | 0 |
| = | the bottom centre row of 2 | 3, 3 |
| < 6 | the bottom right single square | 5 |
Every tile and the squares it covers
- 0-1 → row 2 col 4 and row 1 col 4
- 4-4 → row 4 col 2 and row 4 col 3
- 5-3 → row 6 col 4 and row 6 col 3
- 3-0 → row 6 col 2 and row 6 col 1
- 6-1 → row 2 col 1 and row 1 col 1
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 7 regions, with 1 exact sum to anchor it and 2 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.
29% of its regions are loose against a norm of 41%, so this board is tighter than usual — more regions hand you a number outright, which is why it may have felt unusually tractable.
Where the information is on this board
Ordered from most constrained to least — which is the order worth working them in. No values are given away here, only how much each region can tell you.
- = 3 (the middle left single square) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 3 — and exactly one combination of values satisfies it, so it is forced.
- > 3 (the top centre single square) — the pips in this region must add up to more than 3. 3 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- < 3 (the middle right single square) — the pips in this region must add up to less than 3. 3 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- = (the middle centre 3-square block) — every pip value in this region must be the same. 7 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- = (the middle centre 3-square block) — every pip value in this region must be the same. 7 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- = (the bottom left row of 3) — every pip value in this region must be the same. 7 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- = (the bottom centre row of 2) — every pip value in this region must be the same. 7 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
Hint 1 — where to start
Start with the = 3 region — the middle left single square — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 3. 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: 5-5, 4-4. 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 = 3 region resolves to 3. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.
Full answer — medium board, September 16, 2026
| Region | Where | Values |
|---|---|---|
| > 3 | the top centre single square | 6 |
| = | the middle centre 3-square block | 1, 1, 1 |
| = | the middle centre 3-square block | 5, 5, 5 |
| = 3 | the middle left single square | 3 |
| < 3 | the middle right single square | 0 |
| = | the bottom left row of 3 | 4, 4, 4 |
| = | the bottom centre row of 2 | 1, 1 |
Every tile and the squares it covers
- 4-1 → row 4 col 3 and row 4 col 4
- 3-1 → row 3 col 1 and row 3 col 2
- 5-5 → row 3 col 3 and row 3 col 4
- 6-1 → row 1 col 2 and row 2 col 2
- 5-1 → row 2 col 4 and row 2 col 3
- 4-4 → row 4 col 1 and row 4 col 2
- 1-0 → row 4 col 5 and row 3 col 5
Rows and columns are counted from the top-left of the board, starting at 1.
Hard — 26 squares, 13 dominoes
4 doubles in a 13-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 26 squares this is a typical hard board — the average is 26.2 — so nothing about its size explains an unusually long or short solve.
18% of its regions are loose against a norm of 28%, so this board is tighter than usual — more regions hand you a number outright, which is why it may have felt unusually tractable.
Where the information is on this board
Ordered from most constrained to least — which is the order worth working them in. No values are given away here, only how much each region can tell you.
- = 4 (the top centre single square) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 4 — and exactly one combination of values satisfies it, so it is forced.
- = 11 (the middle centre row of 2) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 11 — and exactly one combination of values satisfies it, so it is forced.
- = 4 (the bottom left single square) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 4 — and exactly one combination of values satisfies it, so it is forced.
- = 10 (the top centre column of 2) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 10. 2 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- = 2 (the middle centre row of 4) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 2. 2 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- = 15 (the middle centre 3-square block) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 15. 3 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- = 4 (the middle centre column of 2) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 4. 3 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- = 14 (the middle centre column of 3) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 14. 4 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- < 5 (the middle centre single square) — the pips in this region must add up to less than 5. 5 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- = 7 (the top centre column of 3) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 7. 7 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- ≠ (the top centre 4-square block) — no two pip values in this region may be the same. 35 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
Hint 1 — where to start
Start with the = 4 region — the top centre 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: 2-2, 5-5, 4-4, 0-0. No double can sit wholly inside an all-different region, and there is one on this board — so start by working out where they cannot go.
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, September 16, 2026
| Region | Where | Values |
|---|---|---|
| ≠ | the top centre 4-square block | 3, 2, 1, 5 |
| = 7 | the top centre column of 3 | 2, 2, 3 |
| = 4 | the top centre single square | 4 |
| = 10 | the top centre column of 2 | 5, 5 |
| = 11 | the middle centre row of 2 | 5, 6 |
| = 15 | the middle centre 3-square block | 5, 5, 5 |
| < 5 | the middle centre single square | 4 |
| = 2 | the middle centre row of 4 | 1, 1, 0, 0 |
| = 14 | the middle centre column of 3 | 6, 4, 4 |
| = 4 | the middle centre column of 2 | 2, 2 |
| = 4 | the bottom left single square | 4 |
Every tile and the squares it covers
- 2-4 → row 8 col 2 and row 8 col 1
- 5-6 → row 2 col 8 and row 3 col 8
- 2-2 → row 1 col 6 and row 2 col 6
- 5-4 → row 1 col 8 and row 1 col 7
- 3-2 → row 1 col 3 and row 2 col 3
- 5-5 → row 5 col 2 and row 5 col 3
- 4-1 → row 5 col 5 and row 5 col 6
- 5-2 → row 6 col 2 and row 7 col 2
- 4-4 → row 7 col 7 and row 8 col 7
- 1-6 → row 5 col 7 and row 6 col 7
- 5-3 → row 3 col 7 and row 3 col 6
- 0-0 → row 5 col 8 and row 5 col 9
- 5-1 → row 3 col 4 and row 3 col 3
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 September 16, 2026?
- The full solution for all three boards is on this page, below the hints. 4 doubles in a 13-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 September 16, 2026 the hard board runs 26 squares across 11 regions against the easy board’s 10 and 8, 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 (easy, medium), Rodolfo Kurchan (hard) and edited by Ian Livengood — the board itself is not reproduced here to play. To play it, go to the official NYT Pips puzzle. To play a free daily domino puzzle of our own making, with a full archive, start here.
Keep reading
- The ≠ ruleWhy "not equal" constrains values, not dominoes.
- Hardest pips puzzlesWhat actually makes a board brutal, and how to attack one.
- Is there an NYT pips archive?Whether the official archive exists, and what to play meanwhile.
- What are pipsThe word itself: pips on dominoes, dice and playing cards, and how to count them.
Or go back to today's pips puzzle.