What is pips?
Pips is a logic puzzle played with dominoes. You are given a grid divided into coloured regions, each carrying a rule about the pip values it must contain, and a set of dominoes to place. Every domino covers two neighbouring cells, and when the grid is full, every region's rule has to hold.
Every puzzle has exactly one solution, and that solution can always be reached by deduction. There is no guessing and no trial and error. If you are stuck, it means there is a move available that you have not spotted yet.
How a pips puzzle works
The grid is divided into coloured regions, and each region shows its rule as a small badge. There are five kinds. A region can require that all its pips are equal, or that they are all different, or that they add up to an exact number, or that their total stays above or below a given number. Some regions carry no badge at all, which means anything goes.
The dominoes sit in a drawer below the grid. Each one has two halves showing values from 0 to 6. You drag a domino onto two adjacent cells and rotate it to choose which value lands where, which matters whenever the two halves fall in different regions.
The whole puzzle is the interaction between those constraints. A region that must total exactly 4 across two cells has only three ways to be filled, and each of them forces something about its neighbours. Follow enough of those forcings and the grid resolves.
Those five badges are the whole rule set. See each one worked through with a diagram.
Play today's puzzle
Three fresh puzzles go up every day, at Easy, Medium and Hard. They run free in your browser with no download and no account, and your time goes on the global leaderboard.
Play today's puzzleWhat makes pips different
If you have played sudoku, the deduction will feel familiar, but the pieces behave differently. A domino is two values that must stay joined, so placing one commits you in two regions at once. That coupling is what makes the puzzle its own thing rather than a variation on filling in a grid.
The other difference is the guarantee. Every puzzle is verified to have a single solution reachable by logic alone, so a puzzle is never asking you to pick a branch and see what happens.
Where to play pips
Three puzzles go up every day at Easy, Medium and Hard, and they run free in your browser with no download and no account. The dotio app adds a much larger library, offline play, leaderboards and solving tools. If you arrived here from the New York Times version, the comparison page covers how the two differ.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the pips puzzle game?
Pips is a domino logic puzzle. You place dominoes on a grid divided into coloured regions, each with a rule about the pip values it contains: sums, equalities, or inequalities. Every puzzle has exactly one solution, and every solution can be found through pure logic. No guessing is ever required.
Where can I play the pips game?
You can play the daily puzzles free in your browser. Three go up every day, at Easy, Medium and Hard, with no download and no account. For the full library, daily challenges and leaderboards, download the dotio app for iOS or Android.
Is there an unlimited pips game?
Yes. dotio has 4,800+ pips puzzles plus three new daily challenges every morning. The Endless mode lets you play puzzle after puzzle at your chosen difficulty without limit. You will not run out.
Is the pips game free?
The three daily puzzles are free to play in your browser every day. The full dotio app is a one-time purchase with no subscription, no ads, and no in-app purchases. Pay once and get everything, including all future updates.
What are games like pips?
Pips shares DNA with logic puzzles like Sudoku, KenKen, and Kakuro, all constraint-based puzzles where you deduce the solution through elimination. The domino placement and rotation mechanic gives pips a tactile quality that pure number grids lack. If you enjoy any logic puzzle, you will likely enjoy pips. There is a fuller rundown of the alternatives worth playing.
Is there a pips app?
Yes. dotio is the pips puzzle game app, available on iPhone, iPad, and Android. It has 4,800+ puzzles, four difficulty levels, daily challenges with global leaderboards, friend groups, Ghost Mode, and built-in solving tools. Download it from the App Store or Google Play.
How does dotio compare to NYT Pips?
Both use the same core mechanic: dominoes on a grid with coloured region rules. dotio has 4,800+ puzzles (vs three daily in NYT), four difficulty tiers (vs three), global leaderboards, friend groups, Ghost Mode, solving tools, offline play, and no subscription. See the full comparison.
Start playing pips
Play today's puzzles free in your browser, or download dotio for the full library.