NYT Pips Hints & Answers Today, November 12, 2026

Thursday’s Pips from The New York Times (NYT), Nov. 12, 2026, spreads Kurchan’s Hard board over nine rows, with many cells in pairs that touch nothing else. Ian Livengood made Easy and Medium; Rodolfo Kurchan made Hard. Hard has nine greater-than or less-than regions today, and our Pips page explains those signs. Placements in the answer section come from the Times’ data.

Where each Pips board starts on Nov. 12

R8C1 is row 8, column 1; count down from the top and across from the left.

Easy. R3C1 must be under 3 and touches only R3C2, which must add up to 9 with R2C2. Run through the options: a 2 or 1 in R3C2 would ask R2C2 for a 7 or 8. Only the 0-6 works, with 0 in R3C1 and 6 in R3C2. R2C2 is then a 3, which comes from the 3-6, and since R3C2 is taken, its 6 goes in R2C3.

Medium. R1C2, R1C3 and R1C4 must total less than 3. R1C3 has no cell below it, so it pairs with R1C2 or R1C4 and its domino lies inside the row. Both halves of that domino must be small, and the 0-0 is the only one that fits; every other domino has a half of 3 or more.

Hard. R1C7 must be 0 and touches only R1C6, which must be under 4. Of the three dominoes with a 0 (0-3, 4-0 and 0-5), only the 0-3 fits. R4C5 touches only R3C5, which must be 0, and R4C5 must be under 5, so the 4-0 goes there. The 0-5 is left for R8C1 and its dead-end neighbor R7C1.

Thursday’s three Pips boards side by side

Level	Dominoes	Regions	Sum	Equal	Not equal	Less or more than	No condition
Easy	5	5	3	0	0	1	1
Medium	7	6	2	2	0	2	0
Hard	16	20	6	2	0	9	3

Counts come from the Times’ data for Nov. 12. Medium has two equal regions, and Hard has three cells with no condition.

Thursday’s Pips hints, Nov. 12, 2026

Easy (five dominoes: 0-6, 2-2, 1-1, 2-1, 3-6)

• Hint 1

  R3C5 and R3C6 add up to 4, and R3C6 touches only R3C5. One domino in the set totals 4 on its own.
• Hint 2

  R2C3, R2C4, R1C4 and R2C5 add up to 9. Three halves show a 1, two of them on the 1-1.

Medium (seven dominoes: 1-6, 5-6, 0-3, 0-0, 4-4, 6-6, 5-4)

• Hint 1

  R3C1, R4C1 and R4C2 must match, and R4C4 must be more than 5. The 6 is the only value with four halves.
• Hint 2

  R3C3 and R4C3 add up to 9, and so do R2C1, R2C2 and R3C2.

Hard (sixteen dominoes on a nine-row board)

• Hint 1

  R5C7, R6C7 and R7C7 must match. R7C7 touches only R6C7, so that domino is a double: 1-1, 2-2 or 5-5.
• Hint 2

  R3C7, R3C8 and R4C7 add up to 3. The three 0s are needed elsewhere, so look at the 1s.

Easy, region by region. Each rule is listed; tap a region to see one value in it.

• R1C3 takes any value (one cell)

  R1C3 holds a 2, on the 2-1 domino.
• R1C4, R2C3, R2C4 and R2C5 add up to 9 (four cells)

  R1C4 holds a 1, on the 2-1 domino.
• R2C2 and R3C2 add up to 9 (two cells)

  R2C2 holds a 3, on the 3-6 domino.
• R3C1 is less than 3 (one cell)

  R3C1 holds a 0, on the 0-6 domino.
• R3C5 and R3C6 add up to 4 (two cells)

  R3C5 holds a 2, on the 2-2 domino.

Medium, region by region. Each rule is listed; tap a region to see one value in it.

• R1C2, R1C3 and R1C4 total less than 3 (three cells)

  R1C2 holds a 0, on the 0-3 domino.
• R2C1, R2C2 and R3C2 add up to 9 (three cells)

  R2C1 holds a 1, on the 1-6 domino.
• R2C4 and R3C4 are equal (two cells)

  R2C4 holds a 4, on the 4-4 domino.
• R3C1, R4C1 and R4C2 are equal (three cells)

  R3C1 holds a 6, on the 1-6 domino.
• R3C3 and R4C3 add up to 9 (two cells)

  R3C3 holds a 4, on the 5-4 domino.
• R4C4 is more than 5 (one cell)

  R4C4 holds a 6, on the 5-6 domino.

Hard, region by region. Each rule is listed; tap a region to see one value in it.

• R1C3 and R1C4 total more than 6 (two cells)

  R1C3 holds a 3, on the 3-4 domino.
• R1C5 and R2C5 total more than 8 (two cells)

  R1C5 holds a 5, on the 5-6 domino.
• R1C6 is less than 4 (one cell)

  R1C6 holds a 3, on the 0-3 domino.
• R1C7 adds up to 0 (one cell)

  The 0 comes from the 0-3 domino; its other half sits at R1C6.
• R3C2 and R4C2 total less than 4 (two cells)

  R3C2 holds a 1, on the 1-2 domino.
• R3C5 adds up to 0 (one cell)

  The 0 comes from the 4-0 domino; its other half sits at R4C5.
• R3C7, R3C8 and R4C7 add up to 3 (three cells)

  R3C7 holds a 1, on the 1-1 domino.
• R3C9 and R4C9 total more than 7 (two cells)

  R3C9 holds a 5, on the 1-5 domino.
• R4C5 is less than 5 (one cell)

  R4C5 holds a 4, on the 4-0 domino.
• R5C7, R6C7 and R7C7 are equal (three cells)

  R5C7 holds a 2, on the 2-4 domino.
• R5C8 and R5C9 add up to 6 (two cells)

  R5C8 holds a 4, on the 2-4 domino.
• R6C3 and R7C3 are equal (two cells)

  R6C3 holds a 5, on the 5-5 domino.
• R6C5 and R7C5 total less than 5 (two cells)

  R6C5 holds a 1, on the 3-1 domino.
• R6C9 and R7C9 total more than 7 (two cells)

  R6C9 holds a 3, on the 3-5 domino.
• R7C1 takes any value (one cell)

  R7C1 holds a 5, on the 0-5 domino.
• R8C1 adds up to 0 (one cell)

  The 0 comes from the 0-5 domino; its other half sits at R7C1.
• R8C4 takes any value (one cell)

  R8C4 holds a 1, on the 4-1 domino.
• R9C1 adds up to 6 (one cell)

  The 6 comes from the 1-6 domino; its other half sits at R9C2.
• R9C2 takes any value (one cell)

  R9C2 holds a 1, on the 1-6 domino.
• R9C4 is more than 1 (one cell)

  R9C4 holds a 4, on the 4-1 domino.

Reading the boards before you check

Hard’s pairs of dead ends, such as R3C2 with R4C2 and R6C5 with R7C5, are dominoes before you start; only their values are open. R7C1, R8C4 and R9C2 have no condition. On Easy, R1C3 is the blank. Medium carries three doubles, 0-0, 4-4 and 6-6.

Thursday’s other puzzles: Wordle hints, Connections hints and Strands hints. Jot down solve times on the printable weekly calendar or the November 2026 calendar.

Thursday’s Pips answers, Nov. 12, 2026 (spoilers)

Spoilers follow. Each line is a domino, then the cell and value of each half.

Easy, by Ian Livengood. Regions: R3C2 and R2C2 add up to 9; R2C3, R2C4, R1C4 and R2C5 add up to 9; R3C5 and R3C6 add up to 4; R3C1 is less than 3; R1C3 takes any value.

• 0-6: R3C1 = 0, R3C2 = 6
• 2-2: R3C5 = 2, R3C6 = 2
• 1-1: R2C4 = 1, R2C5 = 1
• 2-1: R1C3 = 2, R1C4 = 1
• 3-6: R2C2 = 3, R2C3 = 6

Medium, by Ian Livengood. Regions: R1C4, R1C3 and R1C2 total less than 3; R4C2, R4C1 and R3C1 are equal; R2C4 and R3C4 are equal; R3C3 and R4C3 add up to 9; R3C2, R2C2 and R2C1 add up to 9; R4C4 is more than 5.

• 1-6: R2C1 = 1, R3C1 = 6
• 5-6: R4C3 = 5, R4C4 = 6
• 0-3: R1C2 = 0, R2C2 = 3
• 0-0: R1C3 = 0, R1C4 = 0
• 4-4: R2C4 = 4, R3C4 = 4
• 6-6: R4C1 = 6, R4C2 = 6
• 5-4: R3C2 = 5, R3C3 = 4

Hard, by Rodolfo Kurchan. Regions: R1C3 and R1C4 total more than 6; R1C5 and R2C5 total more than 8; R1C6 is less than 4; R1C7 adds up to 0; R3C2 and R4C2 total less than 4; R3C5 adds up to 0; R3C7, R3C8 and R4C7 add up to 3; R3C9 and R4C9 total more than 7; R4C5 is less than 5; R5C7, R6C7 and R7C7 are equal; R5C8 and R5C9 add up to 6; R6C3 and R7C3 are equal; R6C5 and R7C5 total less than 5; R6C9 and R7C9 total more than 7; R7C1 takes any value; R8C1 adds up to 0; R8C4 takes any value; R9C1 adds up to 6; R9C2 takes any value; R9C4 is more than 1.

• 0-3: R1C7 = 0, R1C6 = 3
• 1-1: R3C7 = 1, R4C7 = 1
• 4-1: R9C4 = 4, R8C4 = 1
• 2-2: R6C7 = 2, R7C7 = 2
• 3-4: R1C3 = 3, R1C4 = 4
• 5-6: R1C5 = 5, R2C5 = 6
• 3-5: R6C9 = 3, R7C9 = 5
• 2-3: R5C9 = 2, R4C9 = 3
• 1-5: R3C8 = 1, R3C9 = 5
• 1-2: R3C2 = 1, R4C2 = 2
• 4-0: R4C5 = 4, R3C5 = 0
• 3-1: R7C5 = 3, R6C5 = 1
• 0-5: R8C1 = 0, R7C1 = 5
• 1-6: R9C2 = 1, R9C1 = 6
• 2-4: R5C7 = 2, R5C8 = 4
• 5-5: R6C3 = 5, R7C3 = 5

Easy and Medium have no domino that can be flipped. On Hard, the 3-4, 5-6, 3-5, 1-2 and 3-1 can each be turned around without breaking a rule. Friday’s boards go live at midnight.