NYT Pips Hints and Answers for Sep 25, 2025

NYT Pips arrived on August 18, 2025, as The New York Times' first self-created logic puzzle game. Breaking from their tradition of word puzzles, Pips uses dominoes to challenge players' mathematical thinking and spatial awareness in an entirely new way.

Three fresh puzzles appear daily—Easy for beginners, Medium for regular solvers, and Hard for puzzle veterans seeking a real challenge. The human-crafted design ensures every puzzle feels intentional and satisfying rather than randomly generated.

Easy Difficulty Pips Hints and Answers for Sep 25, 2025

Pips Hints

Start with empty cells to eliminate placement options

Pips Answers

Medium Difficulty Pips Hints and Answers for Sep 25, 2025

Pips Hints

The large equals region severely restricts which dominoes can be used there

Pips Answers

Hard Difficulty Pips Hints and Answers for Sep 25, 2025

Pips Hints

Empty cells divide the grid into separate sections to solve independently

Chain together multiple sum constraints to reveal the solution

Pips Answers

Getting Started with Pips

Succeed by arranging all dominoes on the board according to each colored region's rules.

The Layout

You'll see a grid with colored sections (rules in the corner of each) and white sections (no rules). Below the grid, you'll find your set of dominoes ready to place.

How It Works

• Drag and drop dominoes from the tray onto the grid
• Tap once to rotate any domino 90 degrees
• Each domino must cover two squares that touch each other

Understanding the Rules

Numbered Region (like "4"): All the pips in this area must add up to this number

Equal Sign (=): All domino halves here must have matching pips

Not Equal Sign (≠): All domino halves must have different pip amounts

Greater Sign (>): Each domino half must have more pips than shown

Less Sign (<): Each domino half must have fewer pips than shown

The Trick with Borders

If you place a domino so it sits in two different colored regions, each half plays by its own region's rules. This is where the puzzle gets really interesting—you need to find dominoes where both ends work for their specific conditions.

Puzzle-Solving Tips

Go for the Tough Spots First

Find regions with strict rules like exact number totals or where everything needs to match. These areas usually only have one or two ways to solve them, giving you a strong starting point.

Don't Worry About Mistakes

Pips is built for trying things out. Put dominoes down, see if they work, and move them around if they don't. There's no timer or penalty, so take your time.

Make the Most of Blanks

Those domino halves with zero pips are more useful than you'd think. They're perfect for "less than" regions and help you hit exact totals without going over.

Figure Out the Border Pieces

Dominoes that sit on the line between two regions are usually the key to solving the whole puzzle. Make sure both halves follow their own rules, and the rest often falls into place.