Pips #23 Solutions (October 18, 2026): Easy, Medium and Hard Answers

Pips #23 is day 23 of Puzzlune Pips: three domino boards for Sunday, October 18, 2026, Easy with 5 dominoes on a 5×3 grid, Medium with 7 dominoes on a 5×4 grid, Hard with 10 dominoes on a 6×5 grid. Every region on a board carries a rule, shown as a badge: a number means the pips inside add up to it, “=” means every pip is the same, “≠” means all different, and “<” or “>” compare the region's total to a number. Below, each board's regions are listed with what their rule demands, followed by the full placement.

Pips #23 in numbers

Easy	5×3 · 5 dominoes · 4 regions
Medium	5×4 · 7 dominoes · 4 regions
Hard	6×5 · 10 dominoes · 7 regions

Easy: 5×3 board, 5 dominoes, 4 regions

The dominoes are 4–4, 2–2, 1–3, 0–2, 3–4: 25 pips over 10 cells. The 3 sum regions ask for 17 pips across 8 cells, so the remaining 2 cells share the other 8. 1 region needs every pip the same, which only doubles or matching halves of different dominoes can supply. This board accepts 4 valid arrangements; one is shown below.

Region	Cells	Rule
7	2	adds up to 7 (average 3.5 per cell)
7	3	adds up to 7 (average 2.3 per cell)
=	2	all pips equal
3	3	adds up to 3 (average 1.0 per cell)

Easy board: the solution

Pip counts per cell; colours mark the regions, the small label is the region's rule.

0337227244=314

Domino by domino: 4–4 down column 5, rows 2–3; 2–2 across row 2, columns 1–2; 3–1 across row 3, columns 2–3; 0–2 down column 3, rows 1–2; 3–4 down column 4, rows 1–2.

Medium: 5×4 board, 7 dominoes, 4 regions

The dominoes are 0–0, 3–5, 6–6, 3–3, 3–1, 1–2, 5–4: 42 pips over 14 cells. The 3 sum regions ask for 30 pips across 10 cells, so the remaining 4 cells share the other 12. 1 region needs every pip the same, which only doubles or matching halves of different dominoes can supply. The arrangement below is the unique answer.

Region	Cells	Rule
=	4	all pips equal
6	2	adds up to 6 (average 3.0 per cell)
22	4	adds up to 22 (average 5.5 per cell)
2	4	adds up to 2 (average 0.5 per cell)

Medium board: the solution

Pip counts per cell; colours mark the regions, the small label is the region's rule.

3333=56221026510426

Domino by domino: 0–0 down column 5, rows 2–3; 3–5 down column 1, rows 1–2; 6–6 down column 2, rows 2–3; 3–3 across row 1, columns 2–3; 3–1 down column 4, rows 1–2; 1–2 down column 4, rows 3–4; 5–4 down column 3, rows 3–4.

Hard: 6×5 board, 10 dominoes, 7 regions

The dominoes are 3–3, 6–3, 4–5, 0–3, 3–5, 5–1, 6–6, 6–2, 4–2, 3–4: 74 pips over 20 cells. The 3 sum regions ask for 40 pips across 9 cells, so the remaining 11 cells share the other 34. 2 regions need every pip the same, which only doubles or matching halves of different dominoes can supply. This board accepts 8 valid arrangements; one is shown below.

Region	Cells	Rule
22	4	adds up to 22 (average 5.5 per cell)
13	3	adds up to 13 (average 4.3 per cell)
=	4	all pips equal
=	3	all pips equal
<6	2	total below 6
5	2	adds up to 5 (average 2.5 per cell)
<5	2	total below 5

Hard board: the solution

Pip counts per cell; colours mark the regions, the small label is the region's rule.

3=662261333362<635=4542455103<5

Domino by domino: 3–3 down column 2, rows 1–2; 6–3 down column 1, rows 2–3; 4–5 across row 4, columns 1–2; 0–3 across row 5, columns 2–3; 3–5 down column 3, rows 2–3; 5–1 across row 4, columns 3–4; 6–6 across row 1, columns 4–5; 6–2 across row 2, columns 5–6; 4–2 across row 3, columns 5–6; 3–4 down column 4, rows 2–3.

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Pips #23 (October 18, 2026): the three boards and their solutions

Pips #23 in numbers

Easy: 5×3 board, 5 dominoes, 4 regions

Medium: 5×4 board, 7 dominoes, 4 regions

Hard: 6×5 board, 10 dominoes, 7 regions

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