# New York Times Pips puzzle game release

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/new-york-times-pips-puzzle-game-release
> Updated: 2026-09-02T01:00:40.000Z. Sources: 7. Developments: 4.

The New York Times released Pips, a single-player puzzle game, in August 2025. The game uses a unique variation of dominoes where players place tiles horizontally or vertically to satisfy color-coded conditions within a grid of specific zones.

Gameplay mechanics include constraints such as ‘Number’, where pips must reach a specific sum, as well as ‘Equal’, ‘Not Equal’, ‘Less than’, and ‘Greater than’ requirements. Additional logic challenges include ensuring all pips within a zone are different or meet specific thresholds. Players may also need to rotate dominoes to fit grid requirements.

The game is offered in three difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, and Hard. If a player is unable to proceed, the current interface only allows for revealing the entire solution, which necessitates restarting the puzzle at a different difficulty level. Pips has been introduced as part of a weekly suite of bonus puzzle games for subscribers.

## Claims

- The game features Easy, Medium, and Hard difficulty levels. (corroborated by 3 sources)
- Players must satisfy color-coded zone conditions using domino pips. (corroborated by 3 sources)
- Pips was released in August 2025. (single source)

## Timeline

### 2026-09-02: New York Times launches Pips puzzle games

The New York Times has launched Pips, a new weekly suite of bonus puzzle games involving domino-based logic and mathematical conditions.

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/new-york-times-launches-pips-puzzle-games

### 2026-08-18: New York Times Pips puzzle provides daily logic challenges

Pips is a New York Times domino-based logic puzzle featuring color-coded zones and three difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, and Hard.

4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/new-york-times-pips-puzzle-provides-daily-logic-challenges

### 2026-08-15: The New York Times Pips game features color-coded domino puzzles

Pips is a single-player domino-style puzzle game from The New York Times featuring color-coded gameplay conditions.

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/the-new-york-times-pips-game-features-color-coded-domino-puzzles-1

### 2026-08-13: The New York Times Pips game features color-coded domino puzzles

Pips is a single-player domino-style puzzle game from The New York Times featuring color-coded gameplay conditions and varying difficulty levels.

3 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/the-new-york-times-pips-game-features-color-coded-domino-puzzles

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Cite as: New York Times Pips puzzle game release. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/new-york-times-pips-puzzle-game-release