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NYT Pips answers — Monday, September 8, 2025

Pips #22 · Edited by Ian Livengood · Easy by Rodolfo Kurchan · Medium by Heidi Erwin · Hard by Rodolfo Kurchan

Stuck on today's New York Times Pips? Below are three progressive hints for each difficulty, then the full solution as a tap-to-reveal board. Hints first — the answer only when you want it.

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Easy Pips answer — September 8, 2025

4×2 board · 3 dominoes · 5 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

3 dominoes, 5 regions, a 4×2 grid — that's the easy puzzle for September 8, 2025. You're working with 1 "all equal", 1 "less than", 1 "greater than", 2 free regions. The way in: the "<2" region at row 4, column 2 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.. After that, the "=" pair at row 3, column 1 needs two identical pips — a double, or matching halves from two dominoes.. Rack check: 1 double.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The "<2" region at row 4, column 2 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 2–1 domino with its 2 at row 4, column 1 and its 1 at row 4, column 2.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 2–2 goes at row 2, column 1 → row 3, column 1. From there the rest should fall into place.

Solution

Tap any cell to reveal its pips, or reveal the whole board. Region rules: >2 must add up to more than 2; = must all be the same number; <2 must add up to less than 2.

>2
=
<2
Solution as text
  1. 2–1 — 2 at row 4, column 1, 1 at row 4, column 2
  2. 2–2 — 2 at row 2, column 1, 2 at row 3, column 1
  3. 1–4 — 1 at row 1, column 2, 4 at row 1, column 1

Medium Pips answer — September 8, 2025

2×5 board · 5 dominoes · 4 regions · by Heidi Erwin

Medium today is a 2×5 board with 5 dominoes and 4 regions. You're working with 1 sum region, 1 "all equal", 1 free region. The single cell at row 1, column 1 is marked 5, so it can only hold a 5. After that, the "=" region starting at row 2, column 3 has 3 cells that must all match — every 3 in the puzzle should come here.. Rack check: 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 1, column 1 is marked 5, so it can only hold a 5. Find the domino with a 5 that fits there.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 5–4 domino with its 5 at row 1, column 1 and its 4 at row 2, column 1.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 3–2 goes at row 2, column 3 → row 2, column 2. From there the rest should fall into place.

Solution

Tap any cell to reveal its pips, or reveal the whole board. Region rules: 5 must add up to 5; ≠ must all be different; = must all be the same number.

5
≠
=
Solution as text
  1. 1–3 — 1 at row 1, column 4, 3 at row 2, column 4
  2. 3–2 — 3 at row 2, column 3, 2 at row 2, column 2
  3. 3–5 — 3 at row 2, column 5, 5 at row 1, column 5
  4. 5–4 — 5 at row 1, column 1, 4 at row 2, column 1
  5. 5–6 — 5 at row 1, column 2, 6 at row 1, column 3

Hard Pips answer — September 8, 2025

8×8 board · 15 dominoes · 16 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

15 dominoes, 16 regions, a 8×8 grid — that's the hard puzzle for September 8, 2025. You're working with 14 sum regions, 2 "all equal". The way in: the single cell at row 1, column 5 is marked 5, so it can only hold a 5. After that, the single cell at row 2, column 3 is marked 6, so it can only hold a 6. Rack check: 5 doubles, 4 blank halves, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 1, column 5 is marked 5, so it can only hold a 5. Find the domino with a 5 that fits there.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 0–5 domino with its 0 at row 2, column 5 and its 5 at row 1, column 5.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 2–6 goes at row 3, column 3 → row 2, column 3. From there the rest should fall into place.

Solution

Tap any cell to reveal its pips, or reveal the whole board. Region rules: = must all be the same number; 5 must add up to 5; 6 must add up to 6; 0 must add up to 0; 16 must add up to 16.

=
5
6
0
16
2
3
5
=
3
3
4
3
2
1
0
Solution as text
  1. 1–4 — 1 at row 5, column 5, 4 at row 5, column 6
  2. 2–3 — 2 at row 4, column 3, 3 at row 4, column 2
  3. 2–6 — 2 at row 3, column 3, 6 at row 2, column 3
  4. 1–1 — 1 at row 5, column 1, 1 at row 5, column 2
  5. 0–2 — 0 at row 2, column 6, 2 at row 3, column 6
  6. 4–2 — 4 at row 6, column 4, 2 at row 7, column 4
  7. 5–2 — 5 at row 4, column 4, 2 at row 3, column 4
  8. 0–0 — 0 at row 8, column 4, 0 at row 8, column 5
  9. 1–2 — 1 at row 5, column 3, 2 at row 5, column 4
  10. 3–3 — 3 at row 5, column 7, 3 at row 5, column 8
  11. 3–1 — 3 at row 6, column 5, 1 at row 7, column 5
  12. 0–5 — 0 at row 2, column 5, 5 at row 1, column 5
  13. 3–4 — 3 at row 4, column 7, 4 at row 4, column 6
  14. 2–2 — 2 at row 1, column 4, 2 at row 2, column 4
  15. 4–4 — 4 at row 3, column 5, 4 at row 4, column 5

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