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For the September 4, 2026 NYT Pips Hard puzzle, begin with the exact-6 singleton at row 4, column 6. If you need the full answer, a third-party walkthrough reports the 16 domino placements below. The coordinates are attributed to PuzzleHints; they have not been independently checked against an official NYT answer page.
How to use the hints
Pips is a domino-placement logic game: place every tile so the values in each colored region meet its rule. Depending on the region, that can mean an exact total, equal values, an inequality, or no numerical condition. NYT Games offers daily Easy, Medium, and Hard puzzles, according to Tom’s Guide.
The September 4 Hard board is reported as 16 dominoes covering 32 cells and 18 regions. EnergyPips reports 12 exact-sum conditions, one lower-bound condition, and two free regions. Since a separate archive gives a conflicting rule summary, use the rules visible on your own board rather than relying on a complete rule inventory from an archive.
Hint 1: Start with the exact-6 singleton
One reported hint route begins at row 4, column 6. That cell is alone in an exact-total-6 region, so it must contain a 6. This is a useful forced value, but it does not establish that it is the only possible opening.
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Hint 2: Narrow down the tile choices
PuzzleHints reports that five tray tiles have a 6. Consider which of those could fit the neighboring cell while also leaving the adjoining regions satisfiable.
Hint 3: Check both ends of every placement
A domino affects two cells, which may belong to different regions. A placement that satisfies the region at one end can still create a contradiction at the other, so keep both values and both region rules in view.
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Alternate route: Use the zero singleton
PuzzleHints also describes a route from the zero singleton at row 5, column 9. It says the neighboring two-cell exact-sum-10 region then takes 0 and 4, leaving a 6 that constrains a neighboring equal-value region. Treat this as another reported deduction, not proof that the opening move is unique.
Reported full Hard solution
The following tile-by-tile placements are reported by PuzzleHints. Coordinates refer to rows and columns on that source’s board. For a horizontal placement, the two listed columns share a row; for a vertical placement, the two listed rows share a column.
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- Place 5–6 in row 4, columns 5–6.
- Place 0–4 in column 9, rows 4–5.
- Place 2–0 in column 6, rows 5–6.
- Place 2–4 in row 8, columns 4–5.
- Place 5–3 in row 9, columns 1–2.
- Place 5–0 in row 9, columns 8–9.
- Place 1–6 in column 6, rows 1–2.
- Place 0–6 in row 2, columns 7–8.
- Place 5–5 in row 3, columns 6–7.
- Place 6–2 in row 9, columns 3–4.
- Place 6–3 in row 4, columns 7–8.
- Place 2–5 in column 5, rows 5–6.
- Place 2–3 in column 7, rows 8–9.
- Place 3–3 in column 7, rows 5–6.
- Place 1–1 in row 7, columns 4–5.
- Place 1–3 in row 7, columns 6–7.
The order above follows the published walkthrough. A separate archive labels the date’s Hard puzzle #1230 and says its placements use NYT puzzle data, but that is the archive’s provenance claim rather than direct official confirmation. Confirm the coordinate orientation against your board if you are entering the placements manually.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Board attribution and verification
EnergyPips identifies Rodolfo Kurchan as constructor of the Medium and Hard puzzles and Ian Livengood as editor; it also states that it is independent of NYT. NYT Game Solver reports the date, puzzle number, and board counts. Both are third-party sources, so the placement record here should be read as an attributed answer rather than an officially confirmed NYT solution.
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Anagrammer’s archived constraint summary conflicts with other descriptions of this board, so it is not used here as the definitive list of region rules.
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