Stuck on today's NYT Pips? Full answers for Easy, Medium, and a detailed step-by-step walkthrough for the Hard "dollar" puzzle. No trial and error needed.
Alpha Score of 42 reflects weak overall profile with weak momentum, poor value, moderate quality, weak sentiment.
Wednesday's NYT Pips puzzles are live. If you are stuck on any of the three daily grids – Easy, Medium, or Hard – here are the full answers plus a step-by-step walkthrough for the Hard puzzle, which today spells out "dollar."
Pips works like this: you get a grid of colored squares and a set of dominoes. Each colored zone has a condition – an equals sign, a greater-than or less-than threshold, or a "not equal" constraint. You click each domino to rotate it, then place it to fill the grid. Every domino must be used, and every condition must be satisfied. Blank squares can hold anything.
The Easy and Medium puzzles are straightforward once you know the rules. Below are the solutions.
Easy Pips Top row: 6/3, 5/2, 4/1. Middle: 3/0, 2/5, 1/4. Bottom: 0/6, 6/5, 5/4.
Medium Pips Left column: 6/1, 5/2, 4/3. Right column: 3/4, 2/5, 1/6. Center: 0/0.
Hard Pips: "dollar" The Hard puzzle spells "dollar" across five small grids. Each letter is its own zone with multiple conditions. The trick is that the grids are tiny – two or three tiles wide – so there is almost no room for error. I had to fall back on trial and error to get through.
Start with the "o." Drop the 5/0 domino from Green 5 into Dark Blue =, then place the 0/0 domino directly below it in Dark Blue =. Move to the first "L." Put the 1/6 domino from Pink > 0 into Blue 16.
Now the "a." Place the 5/3 domino from Orange > 3 into Dark Blue =, and the 4/4 domino in the left two tiles of Blue =. Use the 4/3 domino from Blue = into Dark Blue =, then fill the remaining Dark Blue = tiles with the 3/3 domino. That clears four of the five doubles. Three letters are empty; three are nearly full.
Switch to the "d." Put the 3/0 domino from Purple 3 into Pink =, and the 6/0 from Orange > 3 into Pink =. Add the 1/0 from Purple < 3 into Pink =. Then jump to the "r" and place the 6/6 domino in the top tiles of Purple 14.
Back to the "a." Take the 1/4 domino from Blue < 3 and slide it into Orange > 3. In the "r," put the 0/2 domino from the free tile into Purple 14. The 2/1 domino goes in the second "L" from Green > 0 into Pink 12, and the 5/6 domino fills the remaining Pink 12 tiles below it.
All conditions satisfied. All dominoes used. Puzzle solved.
More puzzle guides and reviews are on this blog. Follow along for daily walkthroughs.
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