# NYT Pips Hints and Answers for July 16, 2026 Step-by-step solutions for all difficulty levels of the NYT's Pips game. - **Source:** [Mashable](https://brifing.si/source/3cd6d1d0-9c29-4750-8bc9-f2afefb52505) - **Published:** 2026-07-16 - **Topic:** [Business](https://brifing.si/c/business) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/d67bee0c-17fd-42b3-8f99-8c000e97430a ## Introduction to Pips Launched by The New York Times in August 2025, Pips offers a single-player domino-like experience. Unlike traditional dominoes, it features color-coded areas with specific rules to follow. The game has quickly become a potential daily habit for puzzle enthusiasts. ## Game Mechanics In Pips, tiles are placed vertically or horizontally, touching each other. However, unlike classic dominoes, matching pip counts isn't required. Instead, you must satisfy special conditions in color-coded areas, adding a unique strategic layer to the gameplay. ## Color-Coded Rules The core mechanic revolves around special conditions in colored areas. You might need to create sums equal to, greater than, or less than specified numbers. Some areas require all tile halves to have identical or completely different pip counts. ## Easy Level Hints For July 16's easy level, you'll encounter areas requiring sums greater than 5, equal to 16, and equal to 6. Solutions include placing 6-6 vertically for the greater-than condition and 3-3 horizontally to achieve a sum of 6. ## Medium Level Solutions The medium difficulty puzzles feature multiple areas requiring sums of 10. Combinations like 5-5 horizontal, 1-5 vertical, and 5-4 vertical solve these. Areas requiring equal halves of 3 are satisfied by 3-3 and 3-6 horizontal placements. ## Hard Level Strategies The hard level demands satisfying multiple conditions simultaneously. For instance, areas requiring less than 3 and equal to 4 use combinations like 2-4 vertical. Tile orientation and the ability to satisfy multiple conditions at once become crucial at this difficulty. ## Sources covering this story - https://mashable.com/entertainment/pips-nyt-games-hints-answers-easy-medium-hard-july-16-2026 — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._