Fact-Checking Policy
Last updated: November 9, 2026
A wrong answer on a puzzle site is worse than no answer at all, because it sends a player down a dead end. This page explains exactly how we check a Pips board before we publish it, so you can judge for yourself whether to trust what you read here.
The check, step by step
First, we read the official daily boards: the dominoes in the tray, the shape of the grid, and the mark on every zone. Second, we work out a solution by hand, placing every domino and checking every zone as we go. Third, we check the solution a second time, zone by zone, adding up the pips in each zone and comparing the total with the mark. A zone marked with an exact number must add to exactly that number. A zone marked with an equals sign must hold matching halves. A zone marked with a crossed out equals sign must hold different halves. A zone marked greater than or less than must pass that comparison. A free cell has no rule, and a blank gap is not part of the board at all.
The solver check
The solver on the homepage uses the same checked solution. After a board is verified, we load it in the solver, reveal every domino, and confirm that the board reports itself complete, with the right number of dominoes and the right pip total: 29 pips on Easy and Medium today, 83 pips on Hard. If the solver and the written hints disagree, the board stays unpublished until we find the difference.
Multiple solutions
A Pips puzzle can have more than one valid solution. Any arrangement that places every domino and satisfies every zone counts as a win. When that happens, we show one verified solution and we say so on the page, rather than pretending it is the only one. Your own board can look different from ours and still be right, as long as every zone checks out.
Sources
Our only source for a daily board is the official daily board itself. We do not publish a board from memory, from a screenshot sent by a stranger, or from a single unverified website. Other sites can be useful for a second opinion, but they never replace the check against the official boards.
What happens when we are wrong
When a reader reports a mistake, we check the board again from the start, using the same steps above. If the page is wrong, we correct it the same day, and we reply to the reader when a reply is needed. If the reader is wrong and the page is right, we explain the zone that decides it, so the reader can see why. Either way, the board gets checked again, not defended.
Who checks the work
Murtaza Ali, our Content Reviewer, checks the hints and answers against the boards before publication, and Omer Akbar, the founder, oversees the daily coverage. You can meet them both on the Meet Our Reviewer and Author pages.