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As Americans continue to struggle with rising grocery prices in Donald Trump's economy, the White House is offering up some groundbreaking "tips" for saving money at meal times. In a widely derided interview, agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins suggested families could both adhere to the Trump administration's new dietary guidelines and only spend $3 on a meal consisting of "a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, you know, a corn tortilla, and one other thing."

"I love to sit down for dinner with my family and dig into a healthy plate that consists of one piece of chicken, one piece of broccoli, one corn tortilla, and because we're f***ing rolling in it, one other thing," responded Seth Meyers on Late Night on Thursday. "That list is so bad I'm guessing the 'one other thing' is a single French fry you have to wrestle away from a pigeon in a McDonald's parking lot.

"Seriously, 'one piece of chicken, one piece of broccoli, and one corn tortilla' is your recommendation to Americans for what they should eat. That sounds like a meal aliens would bring to your cell after they abduct you. 'Please enjoy some of your Earth foods. You will need your strength for the probing.'"

Meyers also pointed out that Rollins said her team ran "over 1,000 simulations" to come up with this novel $3 meal idea.

"I'm sorry, you had to run over 1,000 simulations to add up the cost of three grocery items? Don't use the computer for that! That's not what the computer is for!" he said. "Also, what do you mean 'it can cost $3' — in how many of the simulations did it cost more? 'In one simulation, there was a corn virus, and the chickens ate the corn, and all the chickens died, and it was like a million dollars.'"

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, the Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move onto the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity for how Pips is played. As we've shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don't necessarily have to match.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for January 16, 2026

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible – and common – for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you'll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

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

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

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for January 16, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for Jan. 16 Pips

Equal (0): Everything in this space must be equal to 0. The answer is 0-0, placed horizontally; 0-5, placed vertically.

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-2, placed horizontally.

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

Number (3): Everything in this space must add up to 3. The answer is 3-4, placed vertically.

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 3-4, placed vertically; 4-6, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for Jan. 16 Pips

Not Equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 6-4, placed horizontally; 6-6, placed vertically; 5-6, placed horizontally; 3-3, placed vertically.

Less Than (11): Everything in this space must be less than 11. The answer is 5-5, placed horizontally.

Number (7): Everything in this space must add up to 7. The answer is 3-3, placed vertically; 2-4, placed horizontally; 2-6, placed vertically.

Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for Jan. 16 Pips

Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 4-6, placed vertically; 3-3, placed horizontally.

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

Number (24): Everything in this space must add up to 24. The answer is 4-6, placed vertically; 6-6, placed horizontally; 1-6, placed vertically.

Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 4-4, placed horiontally; 1-4, placed horizontally; 5-4, placed horizontally; 4-2, placed vertically.

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

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

Number (20): Everything in this space must add up to 20. The answer is 5-4, placed horizontally; 5-5, placed vertically; 0-5, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 0-5, placed horiontally; 0-3, placed horizontally.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 0-3, placed horizontally; 2-3, placed horizontally.

Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 2-3, placed horizontally; 4-2, placed vertically.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

SAVE $150: As of Jan.16, the Breville Barista Express Impress is on sale for $649.95 at Amazon. That's a 19% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Breville Breville Barista Express Impress $649.95 at Amazon
$799.95 Save $150   Get Deal

If you're a true coffee connoisseur, chances are you turn your nose up at most instant offerings and instead go for a perfectly ground bean, brewed in a French press, Moka pot, or coffee machine. But if you really want to get the most out of your morning jolt, why not brew your beans in the Breville Barista Express Impress. It lives up to its name and truly does impress, but even better than that, as of Jan. 16, it's on sale at Amazon.

Right now, you'll save $150 on this model with a new price of $649.95. It comes with everything you'll need to make your perfect drink, including a portafilter, milk jug, one and two cup single and dual wall filter baskets, water filter holder, razor precision trimming tool, and cleaning tablets.

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This machine makes creating great espresso a piece of cake. It has a clever dosing system that automatically calculates and adjusts the amount of fresh coffee for each shot. Assisted tamping applies a consistent 10kg of pressure with a barista-style twist for a clean, polished puck, and the integrated conical burr grinder offers 25 grind settings to fine-tune the flavor of your beans. It also comes with a built-in steam wand so you can steam milk for drinks like lattes or cappuccinos.

This coffee machine deal is available at Amazon now.

SAVE OVER $400: As of Jan. 16, the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 is on sale for $398.99 at Amazon. That's 50% off the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Jackery Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 $389.99 at Amazon
$799 Save $409.01   Get Deal

The Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 is back on sale at Amazon, and if you've been looking for a reliable power source for your next camping trip or power cut, this model is the perfect choice. Oh, and it's half off right now. As of Jan. 16, you'll save $400.01, taking the price down to $389.99 for a limited time. This price is for the power station unit only, however, there are many upgrade options that are also on sale, like the additional solar panel for $599.

It may be a compact power station, but it's powerful. It delivers a 1,500W AC output with a 3,000W surge, making it capable of running appliances like fridges, AC units, and electric pots. It's great for powering devices and mini fridges while camping too, and its 23.8 pound weight means it is nice and portable.

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It can fully recharge in as little as one hour using the emergency charging via the Jackery app, or in 1.7 hours by default to help preserve battery health. It's also supported by ChargeShield 2.0 for better charging, helping to preserve the battery which is designed to last over 10 years.

For powering devices, there are multiple power points, including AC ports, USB-C and USB-A ports, a DC car port, and integrated LED lighting. Charging modes and settings can be adjusted through the Jackery app, as well as monitoring of battery levels.

Get this portable power station deal from Amazon.

TL;DR: The Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope bundle is only $14.99 at Amazon. That's 50% off the list price for a limited time.

Opens in a new window Credit: Ubisoft 'Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle' and 'Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope' $14.99 at Amazon
$29.99 Save $15.00 Get Deal

The Mario + Rabbids games have ended up being one of the best video game crossovers in recent memory; now Nintendo Switch owners can own both games at half price. 

As of Jan. 16, Amazon’s exclusive bundle containing both Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle and Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is now only $14.99 — $15 off its standard listing price of $29.99 as part of a limited-time deal. A 50% discount like this is rare for such a popular bundle of games. That $14.99 price tag is also the lowest this bundle has ever been according to price tracker camelcamelcamel. 

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Developed by Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Paris, both Mario + Rabbids titles are action-adventure tactical role-playing games that were praised for their ambition towards their characters, graphics, and turn-based combat gameplay. Even now, the two games still enjoy high scores on Metacritic: with Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle and Sparks of Hope both sitting comfortably at 85. 

Getting two critically-acclaimed games starring Mario for only $14.99 is an absolute steal, even if they are only digital copies. 

If you’ve already made an upgrade to a Nintendo Switch 2, the tomtoc Slim (my favourite budget-friendly Switch 2 case) is also on sale at 32% off. For Pokémon lovers, the Fall 2025 edition of the Pokémon TCG Collector Chest is still over $20 off at Amazon. 

TL;DR: The One Piece Card Game’s Learn Together Deck Set is now only $36.99 at Amazon. That's 8% off its $39.99 list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Bandai One Piece: Learn Together Deck Set (LT-01) by Bandai $36.99 at Amazon
$39.99 Save $3 Get Deal

The One Piece Card Game has really taken off since launching about three and a half years ago. It's accessible and fun, so it's no wonder why. Now, the perfect starter kit is at its best price this year. 

As of Jan. 16, One Piece: Learn Together Deck Set is now only $36.99 on Amazon, with $3 cut off its list price. That’s the best price this set has been this year, and is the best way to jump in and see what the card game is all about. The set comes with three constructed decks, based around Zoro, Luffy, and Nami, each with 51 cards plus 10 DON!! Cards, and a unique deck case. 

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Essentially, this means you and up to two friends could open this set up, take a deck each, and learn the One Piece card game while you learn together. Alongside three included booster packs to optimize each deck, this comes with three unique guidebooks: one for each deck, so you can even master each specific theme. 

This new price is still about $4 higher than market price, but is still the best price going compared to TCGplayer — the lowest-priced listing there is at $78.98. 

For more great deals from the world of trading cards, the Fall 2025 edition of the Pokémon TCG: Collector Chest is still on sale at over $20 off. The Magic: The Gathering Tarkir Dragonstorm Play Booster Box is now below market value on Amazon, as well.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: How to play Pips, the newest NYT game

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Friday, Jan. 16, 2026:

Across___ Max

• The answer is HBO.

Where Marco Polo is played

• The answer is Pool.

Overwhelming amount, metaphorically

• The answer is Flood.

Reason for success in games like Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders

• The answer is Luck.

"That's just the worst"

• The answer is Ugh.

DownLiquor, informally

• The answer is Hooch.

Winner of a Booker prize, fittingly

• The answer is Book.

Antiquated

• The answer is Old.

Give a short promotion for

• The answer is Plug.

Winter malady

• The answer is Flu.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to the latest Mini Crossword.