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NYT Pips answers — Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Pips #44 · 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 30, 2025

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

4 dominoes, 5 regions, a 3×4 grid — that's the easy puzzle for September 30, 2025. You're working with 1 "less than", 2 "greater than", 1 free region. Rack check: 2 doubles, 1 blank half.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the smallest regions — they have the fewest ways to be filled.

Hint 2 — first domino

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

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 3–5 goes at row 3, column 3 → row 3, 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: >3 must add up to more than 3; ≠ must all be different; <3 must add up to less than 3; >4 must add up to more than 4.

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

Medium Pips answer — September 30, 2025

6×3 board · 5 dominoes · 6 regions · by Heidi Erwin

Medium today is a 6×3 board with 5 dominoes and 6 regions. Rules on the board: 2 sum regions, 2 "less than", 2 free regions. The way in: the pair at row 5, column 2 adds to 10; list the ways to make 10 with the rack you have.. Rack check: 2 blank halves, 1 six.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The pair at row 5, column 2 adds to 10; list the ways to make 10 with the rack you have.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 0–5 domino with its 0 at row 4, column 2 and its 5 at row 5, column 2.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 5–2 goes at row 6, column 2 → row 6, 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: 8 must add up to 8; <3 must add up to less than 3; <5 must add up to less than 5; 10 must add up to 10.

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

Hard Pips answer — September 30, 2025

5×6 board · 13 dominoes · 8 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

13 dominoes, 8 regions, a 5×6 grid — that's the hard puzzle for September 30, 2025. The mix is 2 sum regions, 4 "all equal", 1 "greater than", 1 free region. Best foothold — the two-cell region at row 5, column 1 adds to 0: both cells must be 0. After that, the "=" region starting at row 1, column 2 has 6 cells that must all match — every 0 in the puzzle should come here.. Rack check: 3 doubles, 8 blank halves, 2 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The two-cell region at row 5, column 1 adds to 0: both cells must be 0. That's the 0–0 domino, or two 0s from different dominoes.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 0–3 domino with its 0 at row 5, column 1 and its 3 at row 4, column 1.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 0–5 goes at row 1, column 2 → row 1, 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: 10 must add up to 10; = must all be the same number; >10 must add up to more than 10; 0 must add up to 0.

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

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