Sun Sep 28 12:50:00 UTC 2025: **Summary:**

Ian Livengood, a puzzle editor at The New York Times, discusses his experience developing “Pips,” a new visual logic game involving dominoes. He explains how his lifelong love of dominoes-based games like Rummikub and Mexican Train, combined with his professional experience creating crosswords, influenced the creation of Pips. Livengood details the game’s rules, his analog puzzle-making process, and how other puzzle makers contribute to the game, highlighting the human element in its design. He also draws parallels between the logical thinking required for crossword puzzles and Pips.

**News Article:**

**New York Times’ “Pips” Game Editor Reveals Domino-Inspired Logic**

NEW YORK – The New York Times’ newest puzzle game, “Pips,” has captured the attention of logic puzzle enthusiasts. Ian Livengood, the puzzle editor behind “Pips,” sheds light on the game’s creation, revealing its deep roots in his childhood fascination with dominoes and his expertise in crossword puzzles.

Livengood explains that “Pips,” which launched in August, challenges players to arrange dominoes on a board, meeting specific conditions related to parity, similarity, or dot sums. He credits his lifelong love of games like Rummikub and Mexican Train dominoes for inspiring the core concept, stating, “The elements that make [them] so satisfying…are also what make Pips so fun.”

Despite his experience with crosswords, Livengood embraced the challenge of creating a visual logic game. He draws a parallel between the two, noting that both require pattern recognition and deductive reasoning. He also describes his hands-on approach to puzzle design, using a physical set of dominoes to create varied and challenging boards. Other puzzle makers like Rodolfo Kurchan and Heidi Erwin contribute to Pips puzzles, and each puzzle maker brings a unique quality to the game.

“In a world where many games feel auto-generated, handmade puzzles forge a stronger bond between puzzle maker and solver,” says Erwin.
Livengood encourages players to celebrate their successes with the unofficial “Pips” cheer: “Pip, pip, hooray!”

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