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NYT Pips answers — Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Pips #37 · Edited by Ian Livengood · Easy by Ian Livengood · Medium by Rodolfo Kurchan · Hard by Heidi Erwin

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.

Jump to: Easy · Medium · Hard

Easy Pips answer — September 23, 2025

3×5 board · 4 dominoes · 4 regions · by Ian Livengood

4 dominoes, 4 regions, a 3×5 grid — that's the easy puzzle for September 23, 2025. You're working with 1 sum region, 1 "all equal", 1 "greater than", 1 free region. The single cell at row 2, column 5 is marked 5, so it can only hold a 5. After that, the "=" region starting at row 1, column 2 has 5 cells that must all match — every 4 in the puzzle should come here.. Rack check: 1 double.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 2, 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 5–4 domino with its 5 at row 2, column 5 and its 4 at row 2, column 4.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 1–4 goes at row 1, column 1 → row 1, 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: = must all be the same number; 5 must add up to 5; >2 must add up to more than 2.

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

Medium Pips answer — September 23, 2025

6×6 board · 10 dominoes · 9 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

Medium today is a 6×6 board with 10 dominoes and 9 regions. You're working with 2 "all equal", 2 "less than", 3 "greater than", 2 free regions. The "=" region starting at row 1, column 2 has 5 cells that must all match — every 5 in the puzzle should come here.. After that, the "=" region starting at row 3, column 3 has 8 cells that must all match — every 6 in the puzzle should come here.. Rack check: 2 doubles, 2 blank halves, 8 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The "=" region starting at row 1, column 2 has 5 cells that must all match — every 5 in the puzzle should come here.

Hint 2 — first domino

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

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 6–5 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; >1 must add up to more than 1; >2 must add up to more than 2; <2 must add up to less than 2; <1 must add up to less than 1.

=
>1
>2
=
<2
<1
>3
Solution as text
  1. 5–0 — 5 at row 1, column 2, 0 at row 1, column 1
  2. 5–2 — 5 at row 2, column 2, 2 at row 2, column 1
  3. 6–5 — 6 at row 3, column 3, 5 at row 2, column 3
  4. 5–5 — 5 at row 1, column 3, 5 at row 1, column 4
  5. 6–6 — 6 at row 4, column 3, 6 at row 4, column 4
  6. 6–1 — 6 at row 5, column 3, 1 at row 6, column 3
  7. 3–6 — 3 at row 2, column 4, 6 at row 3, column 4
  8. 0–6 — 0 at row 6, column 4, 6 at row 5, column 4
  9. 6–2 — 6 at row 5, column 5, 2 at row 6, column 5
  10. 6–4 — 6 at row 5, column 6, 4 at row 6, column 6

Hard Pips answer — September 23, 2025

7×5 board · 8 dominoes · 8 regions · by Heidi Erwin

The hard board runs 7 rows by 5 columns: 8 dominoes to place across 8 regions. Rules on the board: 4 sum regions, 1 "all equal", 1 "less than", 1 "greater than", 1 free region. The way in: the "=" region starting at row 4, column 3 has 5 cells that must all match — every 3 in the puzzle should come here.. After that, the "<2" region at row 7, column 5 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.. Rack check: 1 double, 3 blank halves, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The "=" region starting at row 4, column 3 has 5 cells that must all match — every 3 in the puzzle should come here.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 3–3 domino with its 3 at row 4, column 3 and its 3 at row 5, column 3.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 0–1 goes at row 7, column 5 → row 6, column 5. 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 2; >2 must add up to more than 2; = must all be the same number; <2 must add up to less than 2.

2
2
2
>2
=
2
<2
Solution as text
  1. 4–0 — 4 at row 3, column 5, 0 at row 3, column 4
  2. 0–3 — 0 at row 4, column 2, 3 at row 5, column 2
  3. 3–1 — 3 at row 6, column 3, 1 at row 6, column 4
  4. 1–2 — 1 at row 2, column 2, 2 at row 3, column 2
  5. 1–6 — 1 at row 2, column 1, 6 at row 1, column 1
  6. 0–1 — 0 at row 7, column 5, 1 at row 6, column 5
  7. 2–3 — 2 at row 4, column 4, 3 at row 5, column 4
  8. 3–3 — 3 at row 4, column 3, 3 at row 5, column 3

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