If you hit a wall on today\u2019s New York Times Pips (Feb. 20), this guide walks you through the puzzles step by step so you can finish every grid with confidence. Below you\u2019ll find quick gameplay tips, a compact guide to the symbols you\u2019ll see, the Easy and Medium answers, and a detailed walkthrough for the Hard puzzle.<\/p>\n
Pips is a logic placement game built around domino-like tiles: you rotate and drop two-number pieces into a colored grid so that each region\u2019s rule is satisfied. Colors and icons define numeric conditions \u2014 sums, inequalities or sameness \u2014 and every tile must be used and every square filled to complete a board.<\/p>\n
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At a glance, think of each colored area as a mini-constraint. Some regions show an exact total, others demand that all tiles be identical or all different, and a few simply require numbers above or below a threshold. Tiles are two-sided numbers (for example, 6\/1 or 3\/0) and you can rotate them before placing.<\/p>\n
Smaller puzzles test basic arithmetic and placement; higher difficulties introduce overlapping constraints and symbol rules that force careful trial and elimination. The game rewards spotting forced placements first \u2014 tiles that have only one legal slot \u2014 then working outward from those anchors.<\/p>\n
Common symbols and what they mean<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n<\/ul>\n <\/p>\n Note:<\/strong> The items below reveal the completed arrangements for the Feb. 20 Easy and Medium puzzles, followed by a step-by-step solution for the Hard board.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Easy grid solved with straightforward placements that satisfy each colored-region total. Start by filling any zone that lists an exact sum with the only tile combinations that reach it, and use those placements to reduce options in neighboring squares.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Completed layout: the final grid arranges the tiles so every colored area meets its specified total or equality rule. (If you want to reconstruct it visually, place the unique-sum tiles first, then rotate and fit remaining tiles into the free spaces.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Medium board required a few forced moves early on \u2014 one or two tiles had only one legal location because of overlapping inequalities. Once those anchors were placed, the remaining pieces slot in quickly by matching local thresholds and the equal\/unequal markers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Final state: all zones closed cleanly after resolving the initial forced placements. If you struggled, retrace those anchors and re-evaluate any region that lists a strict > or < constraint.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Hard game today is a five-pip puzzle that starts with clear forced moves but becomes more tangled in the center. Below is how to work through it and where each tile ultimately belongs.<\/p>\n Key opening constraints:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n<\/ul>\n With those anchors in place, several interior choices follow logically:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I placed the 1\/1<\/strong> tile into the teal area marked with an equality sign \u2014 its identical pips satisfy the \u201call the same\u201d condition for that region.<\/p>\n The central cluster was trickier. The 6\/3<\/strong> tile is most useful in the center because it alone can satisfy both a >3 requirement and a 3-count in adjoining squares, so giving it that spot removes ambiguity for adjacent placements.<\/p>\n From there the remaining moves fall into place:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n<\/ul>\n Summary table \u2014 final Hard placements<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n<\/table>\n If you follow those placements in sequence \u2014 lock the forced tiles first, use them to eliminate impossible positions, and then place the multi-functional tiles like 6\/3 where they resolve multiple constraints \u2014 the puzzle completes logically. For more practice, repeat the pattern of finding unique-fit tiles early; that approach shortens solving time on future Pips boards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":43374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"schema_org_data":"{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[]}","_extracted_celebrities":"","_extracted_movies":"","_extracted_places":"","_extracted_videos":"","_last_enrichment_date":"2026-02-20 17:16:42","footnotes":""},"categories":[389],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/p>\n
Solutions for today\u2019s puzzles (spoilers)<\/h2>\n
Easy puzzle \u2014 solution summary<\/h3>\n
Medium puzzle \u2014 solution summary<\/h3>\n
Hard puzzle \u2014 full walkthrough and final placements<\/h2>\n
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\n Tile<\/th>\n Assigned region \/ reason<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n 5\/0<\/td>\n Top-left \u2014 required for purple total and dark-blue <1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 6\/1<\/td>\n Orange 1 square \u2014 only viable 1-provider<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 6\/0<\/td>\n Bottom-right purple >5 \u2014 only tile that satisfies >5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1\/1<\/td>\n Teal = zone \u2014 identical pips meet equality<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 6\/3<\/td>\n Center \u2014 fits >3 and three-count spots<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 3\/0<\/td>\n Pink 3 zone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2\/2<\/td>\n Upper-right olive-2 and purple-2 squares<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 4\/1<\/td>\n <2 and >2 pair \u2014 only remaining feasible tile<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1\/2<\/td>\n Dark-blue 4 zone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 3\/2<\/td>\n Pink = area (final slot)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n