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NYT Pips answers — Saturday, September 27, 2025

Pips #41 · Edited by Ian Livengood · Easy by Heidi Erwin · 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.

Jump to: Easy · Medium · Hard

Easy Pips answer — September 27, 2025

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

Easy today is a 5×2 board with 4 dominoes and 5 regions. The mix is 2 sum regions, 1 "all equal", 2 free regions. The "=" pair at row 3, column 2 needs two identical pips — a double, or matching halves from two dominoes.. After that, the pair at row 2, column 1 adds to 6; list the ways to make 6 with the rack you have.. Rack check: 2 doubles, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The "=" pair at row 3, column 2 needs two identical pips — a double, or matching halves from two dominoes.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 1–1 domino with its 1 at row 3, column 2 and its 1 at row 4, column 2.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 3–4 goes at row 3, column 1 → row 2, 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: 6 must add up to 6; 4 must add up to 4; = must all be the same number.

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

Medium Pips answer — September 27, 2025

5×3 board · 5 dominoes · 5 regions · by Heidi Erwin

The medium board runs 5 rows by 3 columns: 5 dominoes to place across 5 regions. The mix is 1 sum region, 1 "less than", 2 "greater than". The "<2" region at row 1, column 3 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.. Rack check: 5 doubles, 2 blank halves.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The "<2" region at row 1, column 3 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 0–0 domino with its 0 at row 1, column 3 and its 0 at row 2, column 3.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 1–1 goes at row 3, column 3 → row 4, 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: <2 must add up to less than 2; ≠ must all be different; >2 must add up to more than 2; >1 must add up to more than 1; 7 must add up to 7.

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

Hard Pips answer — September 27, 2025

7×9 board · 16 dominoes · 20 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

16 dominoes, 20 regions, a 7×9 grid — that's the hard puzzle for September 27, 2025. The mix is 14 sum regions, 3 "all equal", 2 free regions. Best foothold — the single cell at row 2, column 2 is marked 1, so it can only hold a 1. After that, the single cell at row 2, column 9 is marked 5, so it can only hold a 5. Rack check: 5 doubles, 5 blank halves, 3 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 2, column 2 is marked 1, so it can only hold a 1. Find the domino with a 1 that fits there.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 1–2 domino with its 1 at row 2, column 2 and its 2 at row 3, column 2.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 5–3 goes at row 2, column 9 → row 3, column 9. 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 1; 5 must add up to 5; 2 must add up to 2; ≠ must all be different.

=
1
5
2
≠
3
4
=
2
0
2
1
4
18
1
=
3
4
Solution as text
  1. 1–3 — 1 at row 7, column 3, 3 at row 7, column 2
  2. 1–2 — 1 at row 2, column 2, 2 at row 3, column 2
  3. 0–0 — 0 at row 2, column 1, 0 at row 3, column 1
  4. 1–5 — 1 at row 2, column 4, 5 at row 3, column 4
  5. 6–1 — 6 at row 5, column 5, 1 at row 4, column 5
  6. 2–2 — 2 at row 3, column 3, 2 at row 4, column 3
  7. 4–2 — 4 at row 7, column 6, 2 at row 7, column 7
  8. 0–1 — 0 at row 6, column 3, 1 at row 5, column 3
  9. 6–2 — 6 at row 5, column 7, 2 at row 6, column 7
  10. 6–0 — 6 at row 5, column 6, 0 at row 4, column 6
  11. 4–4 — 4 at row 4, column 4, 4 at row 5, column 4
  12. 5–3 — 5 at row 2, column 9, 3 at row 3, column 9
  13. 3–3 — 3 at row 3, column 5, 3 at row 3, column 6
  14. 4–3 — 4 at row 3, column 7, 3 at row 3, column 8
  15. 0–2 — 0 at row 4, column 7, 2 at row 4, column 8
  16. 1–1 — 1 at row 1, column 3, 1 at row 2, column 3

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