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NYT Pips answers — Thursday, December 25, 2025

Pips #130 · Edited by Ian Livengood · Easy by Ian Livengood · Medium by Ian Livengood · 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 — December 25, 2025

6×2 board · 5 dominoes · 8 regions · by Ian Livengood

5 dominoes, 8 regions, a 6×2 grid — that's the easy puzzle for December 25, 2025. The mix is 3 sum regions, 1 "less than", 1 "greater than", 3 free regions. Best foothold — the single cell at row 1, column 1 is marked 2, so it can only hold a 2. After that, the two-cell region at row 3, column 1 adds to 12: both cells must be 6. Rack check: 1 double, 1 blank half, 2 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 1, column 1 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 4–2 domino with its 4 at row 2, column 1 and its 2 at row 1, column 1.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 6–6 goes at row 3, column 1 → row 4, 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 2; 12 must add up to 12; 10 must add up to 10; >1 must add up to more than 1; <1 must add up to less than 1.

2
12
10
>1
<1
Solution as text
  1. 5–1 — 5 at row 4, column 2, 1 at row 3, column 2
  2. 3–1 — 3 at row 6, column 1, 1 at row 5, column 1
  3. 6–6 — 6 at row 3, column 1, 6 at row 4, column 1
  4. 4–2 — 4 at row 2, column 1, 2 at row 1, column 1
  5. 5–0 — 5 at row 5, column 2, 0 at row 6, column 2

Medium Pips answer — December 25, 2025

5×6 board · 9 dominoes · 10 regions · by Ian Livengood

The medium board runs 5 rows by 6 columns: 9 dominoes to place across 10 regions. The mix is 4 sum regions, 2 "all equal", 2 "less than", 1 "greater than", 1 free region. The single cell at row 5, column 3 is marked 5, so it can only hold a 5. After that, the "=" pair at row 5, column 1 needs two identical pips — a double, or matching halves from two dominoes.. Rack check: 2 doubles, 4 blank halves, 2 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 5, column 3 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 5, column 4 and its 5 at row 5, column 3.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 1–1 goes at row 5, column 1 → row 5, 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 less than 3; >3 must add up to more than 3; 10 must add up to 10; 5 must add up to 5; = must all be the same number.

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

Hard Pips answer — December 25, 2025

9×7 board · 15 dominoes · 12 regions · by Rodolfo Kurchan

Hard today is a 9×7 board with 15 dominoes and 12 regions. You're working with 8 sum regions, 2 "all equal", 1 free region. The single cell at row 1, column 4 is marked 6, so it can only hold a 6. After that, the single cell at row 6, column 3 is marked 1, so it can only hold a 1. Rack check: 6 doubles, 2 blank halves, 3 sixes.

Hints

Hint 1 — where to start

The single cell at row 1, column 4 is marked 6, so it can only hold a 6. Find the domino with a 6 that fits there.

Hint 2 — first domino

Place the 2–6 domino with its 2 at row 2, column 4 and its 6 at row 1, column 4.

Hint 3 — second domino

Next, the 1–0 goes at row 6, column 3 → row 6, column 4. 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; = must all be the same number; 12 must add up to 12; 15 must add up to 15; 4 must add up to 4.

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

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