NYT Pips Hint, Answer & Solution for December 11, 2025

Dec 11, 2025

🚨 SPOILER WARNING

This page contains the final **answer** and the complete **solution** to today's NYT Pips puzzle. If you haven't attempted the puzzle yet and want to try solving it yourself first, now's your chance!

Click here to play today's official NYT Pips game first.

Want hints instead? Scroll down for progressive clues that won't spoil the fun.

🎲 Today's Puzzle Overview

On December 11, 2025 (Thursday)—a mid-December moment that sits right in the heart of the festive season—today’s puzzle set curated by editor Ian Livengood arrives with a warm, collaborative energy that puzzle lovers naturally gather around.

It’s the perfect day to slow down, enjoy a thoughtful challenge, and share a little seasonal cheer while exploring a new trio of daily logic treats.

Start with Easy #411, designed by Livengood, where 5 expressive dominoes create a smooth and welcoming entry point for group solving.

Move into Medium #412, a puzzle shaped with balanced sums and layered constraints that invite deeper discussion, strategy swapping, and even friendly debate.

Then come together for Hard #416, crafted by the inventive Rodolfo Kurchan, offering clever twists that feel especially satisfying when unraveled as a team.

Bring your community into the experience—exchange hints, trade your favorite Pips Hints, talk through tricky regions, and celebrate every breakthrough.

This set naturally encourages teamwork: the easy puzzle sets a gentle rhythm, the medium puzzle invites coordinated reasoning, and the hard puzzle carries that spirited “let’s solve this together” momentum all the way to the final solution.

Share your progress, compare paths, and let today’s December 11 release become a shared ritual of conversation, cooperation, and fun.

A perfect Thursday for collective puzzling—and a little extra December warmth.

Written by Joe

Puzzle Analyst – Mark

💡 Progressive Hints

Try these hints one at a time. Each hint becomes more specific to help you solve it yourself!

💡 Hint #1 - Light Blue 9

The domino halves in this region must be 1+2+6.

💡 Hint #1 - Observe

Dominoes Include: [6-5], [6-4], [5-5], [5-4], [5-2], [3-1], [2-2], [1-1]. Only 2 domino halves that contain 6 pips for Light Blue 6 and Red 6 regions. Only 2 domino halves that contain 4 pips, need one for Yellow 4 region.

💡 Hint #2 - Red 10

The domino halves in this region must be 5+5.

💡 Hint #3 - Red 6

The answer is 6-4, placed horizontally.

💡 Hint #1 - Yellow 0

The answer is 0-4, placed horizontally; 0-3, placed horizontally.

💡 Hint #2 - Light Blue Equal

The domino halves in this region must be 1.

💡 Hint #3 - Green 9

The domino halves in this region must be 3+2+4.

💡 Hint #4 - Purple Equal

The domino halves in this region must be 2.

🎨 Pips Solver

Dec 11, 2025

Click a domino to place it on the board. You can also click the board, and the correct domino will appear.

✅ Final Answer & Complete Solution For Hard Level

The key to solving today's hard puzzle was identifying the placement for the critical dominoes highlighted in the starting grid. Once those were in place, the rest of the puzzle could be solved logically. See the final grid below to compare your solution.

Starting Position & Key First Steps

Pips hint for December 11, 2025 – hard level puzzle grid with critical first placements and strategy

This image shows the initial puzzle grid for the hard level, with a few critical first placements highlighted.

Final Answer: The Solved Grid for Hard Mode

NYT Pips December 11, 2025 hard puzzle full solution grid showing final answer with hints

Compare this final grid with your own solution to see the correct placement of all dominoes.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Easy Level

1

Step 1

Dominoes Include: [6-6], [5-3], [4-2], [2-2], [1-0]. There is no single correct answer to this puzzle.

2

Step 2: Purple 5 --(Arrows ①)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. The answer is 5-3 (3 right into blank), placed horizontally.

3

Step 3: Light Blue 9 + Yellow >3 --(Arrows ②③④)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes. The domino halves in Light Blue 9 region must be 1+2+6. The answer is 0-1 (0 left into blank), placed horizontally; 6-6 (one 6s into Yellow >3 region), placed horizontally; 2-2 (one 2s right into blank, confirmed by step 4), placed horizontally.

4

Step 4: Red >3 --(Arrows ⑤)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes. Need one domino sum to be more than 3 placed in this region. The answer is 2-4, placed horizontally.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level

1

Step 1

Dominoes Include: [6-5], [6-4], [5-5], [5-4], [5-2], [3-1], [2-2], [1-1]. Only 2 domino halves that contain 6 pips for Light Blue 6 and Red 6 regions. Only 2 domino halves that contain 4 pips, need one for Yellow 4 region.

2

Step 2: Purple 2 --(Arrows ①)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1. Need one domino sum to 2 placed in this region. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally.

3

Step 3: Red 10 + Yellow 4 + Light Blue 6 --(Arrows ②③)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and remaining dominoes. The domino halves in Red region must be 5+5. The answer is 5-4 (4 into Yellow 4 region), placed vertically; 5-6 (6 into Light Bule 6 region), placed horizontally.

4

Step 4: Red 6 --(Arrows ④)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes with 6 pips (6-4). 4 pips must be placed in blank. The answer is 6-4 (4 left into blank), placed horizontally.

5

Step 5: Green 2 + Purple Equal + Light Blue Equal --(Arrows ⑤⑥⑦)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (5-5, 5-2, 3-1, 2-2). There are two choicres: A and B. Plan A: The domino halves in Purple Equal region must be 2, the domino halves in Light Blue Equal region must be 5. The answer is 2-2 (one 2s into Green 2 region), placed horizontally; 2-5, placed vertically; 5-5 (one 5s up into blank), placed vertically. Plan B: The domino halves in Purple Equal region must be 5, the domino halves in Light Blue Equal region must be 2. The answer is 2-5 (2 into Green 2 region), placed horizontally; 5-5 (one 5s up into blank), placed vertically; 2-2, placed horizontally.

6

Step 6: Blue >2 --(Arrows ⑧)

Plan A: The answer is 3-1 (1 left into blank), placed horizontally. Plan B: The answer is 3-1 (1 down into blank), placed vertically.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level

1

Step 1

Dominoes Include: [6-5], [6-1], [5-2], [5-1], [4-3], [4-0], [3-1], [3-0], [2-2], [2-1], [1-1].

2

Step 2: Red 0 --(Arrows ①②)

Only 2 domino halves that contain 4 pips, Only 2 domino halves that contain 3 pips. 3 pips and 4 pips can't placed in Light Blue Equal region. Confirmed by neighboring region and the dominoes with 0 pips (4-0, 3-0). The answer is 0-4 (4 into Purple 10 region), placed horizontally; 0-3 (3 into Green 9 region), placed horizontally.

3

Step 3: Purple 10 + Light Blue Equal + Green 9 --(Arrows ③④⑤⑥)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 2 and remaining dominoes (6-5, 6-1, 5-2, 5-1, 4-3, 3-1, 2-2, 2-1, 1-1). The domino halves in Purple 10 region must be 4+6. The domino halves in Light Blue Equal region must be 1. The domino halves in Green 9 region must be 3+2+4. The answer is 6-1, placed horizontally; 1-1, placed horizontally; 1-2 (2 into Green 9 region, confirmed by next step regions), placed vertically; 4-3 (4 into Green 9 region, 3 into Blue 9 region), placed vertically.

4

Step 4: Blue 9 + Yellow 10 + Light Blue Equal --(Arrows ⑦⑧⑨)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (6-5, 5-2, 5-1, 3-1, 2-2). Need one domino with the same number placed in Purple Equal region, so the domino halves in Purple Equal region must be 2. The domino halves in Blue 9 region must be 3+6. The domino halves in Yellow 10 region must be 5+5. The domino halves in Light Blue Equal region must be 1. The answer is 6-5, placed horizontally; 5-1, placed horizontally; 1-3 (3 up into blank), placed vertically.

5

Step 5: Purple Equal + Red >1 --(Arrows ⑩⑪)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (5-2, 2-2). The domino halves in Purple Equal region must be 2. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally; 2-5 (5 into Red >1 region), placed horizontally.

🎥 NYT Pips Strategy Breakdown Smart Moves You Shouldn’t Miss!

Perfect for solvers who want to sharpen instincts, spot patterns faster, and make smarter decisions on the grid

💡 Pro Tips for Similar Puzzles

Start with Constraints

Always begin with the most constrained regions - sum regions with small numbers or tight spaces.

Use Equal Regions

Use "equal" regions as anchors - they eliminate many possibilities quickly.

Work Systematically

Let the rules guide your placement rather than guessing randomly.

Double-Check

Verify each region's rules are satisfied before moving to the next.

🎓 Keep Learning & Improve

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