Since Pips NYT debuted on the New York Times in August 2025, I've been logging each solve to uncover patterns and enjoy the strategic thrill of placing dominoes, merging Rummikub's tactile feel with Sudoku's logic through color-coded rules for sums, equals, inequalities, and unique pips. Today's Tuesday puzzle ramped up the difficulty: the Easy grid, shaped like a 9, was quick at 1:50, but Medium, with 12 tiles and 6 dominoes, took 4:30 due to yellow uniques blocking repeated 3s, while Hard, with 16 tiles and 8 dominoes, needed 7:25 to crack tricky 11-sum Pink and Blue groups using 2/9 and 4/7 placements.

Key tip: track your 0-6 domino halves, especially in not-equal yellow zones where doubles like 4/4 are banned; for 11-sums, use 4/7 verticals over 5/6 with a stray 0. My streak holds at 41/41, with October 3's tough 12-minute Hard as the low and a sub-2-minute Easy on September 15 as my best. Jot your solve time or smart move below, and gear up for Wednesday's tougher challenge. Keep placing those tiles!