NYT Pips hints, answers for October 2

Happy Tuesday and welcome to your Pips guide, the latest game from the New York Times Catalog.

Today’s games have difficulty levels that quickly make up the challenge, but we have all the advice you need to navigate them.

Released in August 2025, the PIPs take a unique tour of dominoes, creating a fun solo experience that could become your next daily play habit.

Currently, if you are stuck, the game only proposes to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to go to the following difficulty and to start again. However, we have covered you! You will find below fragmentary responses which will serve as clues so that you can find your path through each level of difficulty.

How to play pips

If you’ve already played Dominoes, you will have a temporary familiarity on how PIPS is played. As we have shared in our previous stories on pips, tiles, such as dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect to each other. The main difference between a traditional domino game and pips is the color coded conditions that you must approach. The touching tiles do not necessarily have to correspond.

The conditions you must fulfill are specific to color coded areas. For example, if it provides a single number, each side of a tile in this space must be added to the number provided. It is possible – and common – that only half a carrier is in a coded color space.

Here are current examples that you will encounter on difficulty levels:

• Number: All pips in this space must be added to the number.

• Equal: Each half domino in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not equal: Each half domino in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Each half domino in this space must be added unless the number.

• Greater than: Each half domino in this space must be added to more than the number.

If an area does not have color coding, this means that there are no conditions on the parts of the dominoes in these spaces.

Easy difficulty advice, answers for October 2 pips

Less than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 0-2, placed horizontally.

Not equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 0-2, placed horizontally; 4-2, placed horizontally; 5-1, placed vertically.

Number (1): Everything in this space should add to 1. The answer is 5-1, placed vertically.

Equal (3): Everything in this green space must be equal to 3. The answer is 3-3, placed horizontally.

Number (2): Everything in this space should add to 1. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically.

Number (12): Everything in this space should add to 12. The answer is 1-6, placed horizontally.

Average difficulty advice, responses for October 2 pips

Greater than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 5-3, placed horizontally.

Not equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 5-3, placed horizontally; 0-2, placed vertically; 4-1, placed horizontally.

Number (1): Everything in this space should add to 1. The answer is 4-1, placed horizontally.

Number (2): Everything in this space should add to 2. The answer is 0-2, placed vertically; 0-1, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this space should add to 4. The answer is 0-1, placed vertically; 3-1, placed vertically.

Difficult difficulty advice, answers for pips of October 2

Number (4): Everything in this space should add to 4. The answer is 4-3, placed horizontally.

Number (3): Everything in this orange space must add to 3. The answer is 1-2, placed vertically; 5-2, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this green space must add to 3. The answer is 1-2, placed vertically; 1-0, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this light blue space must add to 3. The answer is 4-3, placed horizontally; 1-0, placed vertically.

Less than (3): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 2-3, placed horizontally.

Greater than (3): Everything in this space must be greater than 3. The answer is 4-5, placed vertically.

Equal (5): Everything in this red space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-2, placed vertically; 4-5, placed vertically; 5-5, placed vertically.

Number (4): Everything in this orange space must add to 4. The answer is 4-2, placed vertically.

Less than (3): Everything in this purple space must be less than 3. The answer is 4-2, placed vertically.

Equal (3): Everything in this red space must be equal to 3. The answer is 2-3, placed horizontally; 3-3, placed vertically; 3-1, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this space should add to 0. The answer is 0-0, placed vertically.

Number (1): Everything in this dark blue space must add to 1. The answer is 0-0, placed vertically; 1-1, placed vertically.

Number (1): Everything in this purple space must add to 1. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically.

Number (12): Everything in this space should add to 12. The answer is 4-6, placed vertically; 6-1, placed horizontally.

Less than (2): Everything in this purple space must be less than 2. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally.

Less than (4): Everything in this space must be less than 3. The answer is 6-1, placed horizontally.

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