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NYT Pips answers — Monday, October 27, 2025

Pips #71 · Edited by Ian Livengood · Easy by Heidi Erwin · Medium by Heidi Erwin · Hard by Ian Livengood

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 — October 27, 2025

4×3 board · 4 dominoes · 5 regions · by Heidi Erwin

The easy board runs 4 rows by 3 columns: 4 dominoes to place across 5 regions. The mix is 3 sum regions, 1 "all equal", 1 free region. The single cell at row 1, column 1 is marked 3, so it can only hold a 3. After that, the single cell at row 3, column 3 is marked 2, so it can only hold a 2. Rack check: 1 blank half.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 1, column 1 is marked 3, so it can only hold a 3. Find the domino with a 3 that fits there.

Hint 2 — first domino

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

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 2–3 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: 3 must add up to 3; 2 must add up to 2; = must all be the same number.

3
3
2
=
Solution as text
  1. 4–2 — 4 at row 3, column 2, 2 at row 3, column 1
  2. 0–3 — 0 at row 4, column 1, 3 at row 4, column 2
  3. 1–3 — 1 at row 2, column 1, 3 at row 1, column 1
  4. 2–3 — 2 at row 3, column 3, 3 at row 4, column 3

Medium Pips answer — October 27, 2025

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

The medium board runs 5 rows by 5 columns: 7 dominoes to place across 8 regions. You're working with 3 sum regions, 4 "all equal", 1 "less than". The way in: the single cell at row 4, column 4 is marked 2, so it can only hold a 2. After that, the "<2" region at row 1, column 2 leaves almost no room: only 0s and a single 1 can go here.. Rack check: 1 double, 1 blank half.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 4, column 4 is marked 2, so it can only hold a 2. Find the domino with a 2 that fits there.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 5–2 domino with its 5 at row 3, column 4 and its 2 at row 4, column 4.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 1–3 goes at row 1, column 2 → row 1, 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 the same number; 5 must add up to 5; 9 must add up to 9; 2 must add up to 2.

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

Hard Pips answer — October 27, 2025

6×6 board · 11 dominoes · 9 regions · by Ian Livengood

The hard board runs 6 rows by 6 columns: 11 dominoes to place across 9 regions. The mix is 4 sum regions, 4 "all equal", 1 "greater than". The single cell at row 3, column 1 is marked 4, so it can only hold a 4. After that, the two-cell region at row 3, column 5 adds to 1: the only split is 0 + 1.. Rack check: 3 doubles, 6 blank halves.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 3, column 1 is marked 4, so it can only hold a 4. Find the domino with a 4 that fits there.

Hint 2 — first domino

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

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 0–1 goes at row 3, column 5 → row 4, 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: = must all be the same number; 4 must add up to 4; 1 must add up to 1; >5 must add up to more than 5.

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

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