NYT Pips hints, answers for May 18, 2026

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity with how Pips is played. As we've shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don't necessarily have to match.

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible — and common — for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you'll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

• Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

Easy difficulty hints, answers for May 18 Pips

Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally; 2-1, placed vertically.

Less Than (5): Everything in this space must be less than 5. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically.

Number (9): Everything in this space must add up to 9. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically; 5-5, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for May 18 Pips

Equal (3): Everything in this space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-5, placed horizontally; 3-0, placed vertically; 3-4, placed vertically.

Number (8): Everything in this space must add up to 8. The answer is 3-4, placed vertically; 0-4, placed horizontally.

Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 5-2, placed horizontally; 2-4, placed vertically.

Less Than (5): Everything in this space must be less than 5. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally.

Not Equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally; 5-5, placed horizontally; 6-6, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for May 18 Pips

Greater Than (2): Everything in this space must be greater than 2. The answer is 4-6, placed vertically.

Number (11): Everything in this space must add up to 11. The answer is 4-6, placed vertically; 5-3, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 5-3, placed vertically.

Greater Than (11): Everything in this space must be greater than 11. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically; 6-3, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 6-3, placed vertically.

Greater Than (2): Everything in this space must be greater than 2. The answer is 4-0, placed horizontally.

Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 4-0, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (1): Everything in this space must be greater than 1. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally.

Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally; 2-1, placed vertically.

Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically; 3-3, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 2-3, placed horizontally.

Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 6-0, placed horizontally.

Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 6-0, placed horizontally.

Number (14): Everything in this space must add up to 14. The answer is 5-5, placed vertically; 4-4, placed horizontally.

Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 0-0, placed vertically; 0-1, placed vertically.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.