NYT Pips Hint, Answer & Solution for December 15, 2025

Dec 15, 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!

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

🎲 Today's Puzzle Overview

On December 15, 2025 (Monday), the NYT Pips puzzle set edited by Ian Livengood kicks off the new week with a calm, inviting rhythm — the kind that encourages the whole community to slow down, compare notes, and enjoy the solve together. As a mid-December Monday, it’s a perfect moment to reset after the weekend, grab a coffee, and ease back into focused logic with a shared challenge.

Easy #434, constructed by Livengood, offers a friendly opening grid built for conversation. Clear empty cells guide early placement, while gentle greater-than and less-than clues pair with a compact equals region to spark those first “aha” moments. It’s an ideal puzzle for exchanging Pips Hints, testing small assumptions, and warming up your logic muscles without pressure.

Medium #441, designed by Rodolfo Kurchan, raises the energy with unequal regions, layered sum targets, and a grid that rewards careful discussion. This is where solvers naturally pause to share screenshots, compare partial solutions, and debate the cleanest logic paths — a classic community puzzle that shines when solved together.

Hard #444, also by Kurchan, turns Monday into a true group challenge. Bold equals lines, varied sum constraints, and tight interactions across the grid demand patience and teamwork, making every breakthrough feel earned. Whether you’re posting your final solution or trading late-stage Pips Hints, this puzzle transforms the start of the week into a shared victory worth celebrating.

Written by July

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 - Observe

Dominoes Include: [5-5], [5-4], [2-2], [0-0]. The domino halves in Purple <5 region must be 0+2.

💡 Hint #1 - Observe

Dominoes Include: [6-1], [5-5], [5-2], [4-4], [3-3], [2-2], [0-0]. Only 2 dominoes with 5 pips (5-5, 5-2) for Top Purple 5 region and Bottom Purple 5 region.

💡 Hint #2 - Blue >4

The answer is 6-1 (1 into Light Blue Not Equal), placed horizontally.

💡 Hint #3 - Light Blue Not Equal

The domino halves in this region must be 0+1+2+3+4+5.

💡 Hint #1 - Observe

Dominoes Include: [6-5], [6-3], [6-1], [5-5], [5-4], [5-3], [4-4], [4-3], [3-3], [3-2], [3-0], [0-0]. Only one domino with 1 pips (6-1) for Light Blue 1 region. Only one domino with 2 pips (3-2) for Red 2 region. Only 3 dominoes with 4 pips (5-4, 4-4, 4-3) for Number 4 regions. Only 7 domino halves that contain 3 pips, need one for Yellow 3 region. Only 4 domino halves that contain 5 pips, need one for Purple 5 region. Therefore, The domino halves in Light Blue Equal region must be 3.

💡 Hint #2 - Red 11

The domino halves in this region must be 5+6.

🎨 Pips Solver

Dec 15, 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 15, 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 15, 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: [5-5], [5-4], [2-2], [0-0]

2

Step 2: Purple <5 + Red >6--(Arrows ①②③)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. The domino halves in Purple <5 region must be 0+2. The domino halves in Red >6 region must be 2+5. The answer is 0-0 (one 0s up into blank), placed vertically; 2-2, placed horizontally; 5-4 (4 up into blank), placed vertically.

3

Step 3: Light Blue Equal --(Arrows ④)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes. The answer is 5-5, placed horizontally.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level

1

Step 1

Dominoes Include: [6-1], [5-5], [5-2], [4-4], [3-3], [2-2], [0-0]. Only 2 dominoes with 5 pips (5-5, 5-2) for Top Purple 5 region and Bottom Purple 5 region.

2

Step 2: Blue >4 --(Arrows ①)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. Only one domino with 6 pips (6-1), 6 pips must placed in this region. The answer is 6-1 (1 into Light Blue Not Equal region), placed horizontally. Therefore, the domino halves in Light Blue Not Equal region must be 0+1+2+3+4+5.

3

Step 3: Yellow >3 --(Arrows ②)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and step 2 and remaining dominoes (5-5, 5-2, 4-4, 3-3, 2-2, 0-0). 4 pips must placed in this region. The answer is 4-4 (one 4s into Light Blue Not Equal), placed horizontally.

4

Step 4: Top Purple 5 + Red 5 --(Arrows ③④)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (5-5, 5-2, 3-3, 2-2, 0-0). The domino halves in Red 5 region must be 2+3. The answer is 5-2 (5 into Purple 5 region), placed vertically; 3-3 (one 5s into Light Blue Not Equal region), placed horizontally.

5

Step 5: Bottom Purple 5 + Green 2 + Light Blue Not Equal --(Arrows ⑤⑥⑦)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (5-5, 2-2, 0-0). Light Blue Not Equal region still needs 0, 2, and 5. The answer is 5-5 (one 5s into Bottom Purple 5 region), placed vertically; 2-2 (one 2s into Green 2 region), placed vertically; 0-0 (one 0s down into blank), placed vertically.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level

1

Step 1

Dominoes Include: [6-5], [6-3], [6-1], [5-5], [5-4], [5-3], [4-4], [4-3], [3-3], [3-2], [3-0], [0-0]. Only one domino with 1 pips (6-1) for Light Blue 1 region. Only one domino with 2 pips (3-2) for Red 2 region. Only 3 dominoes with 4 pips (5-4, 4-4, 4-3) for Number 4 regions. Only 7 domino halves that contain 3 pips, need one for Yellow 3 region. Only 4 domino halves that contain 5 pips, need one for Purple 5 region. Therefore, The domino halves in Light Blue Equal region must be 3.

2

Step 2: Light Blue 1 --(Arrows ①)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. The answer is 1-6 (6 into Blue Not Equal region), placed horizontally.

3

Step 3: Light Blue Equal + Green >5 + Blue 4 + Purple >4 + Red <3 --(Arrows ②③④⑤)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and remaining dominoes with 3 pips (6-3, 5-3, 4-3, 3-3, 3-2, 3-0). The domino halves in Light Blue Equal region must be 3. Only 2 dominoes left that contain 6 pips (6-5, 6-3). The answer is 6-3 (6 into Green >5 region), placed vertically; 4-3 (4 into Blue 4 region), placed vertically; 5-3 (5 into Purple >4 region), placed vertically; 0-3 (0 into Red <3 region), placed vertically.

4

Step 4: Purple 4 + Red 11 + Light Blue >4 --(Arrows ⑥⑦)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (6-5, 5-5, 5-4, 4-4, 3-3, 3-2, 0-0). The domino halves in Red 11 region must be 5+6. The answer is 4-5 (4 into Purple 4 region), placed horizontally; 6-5 (5 into Light Blue >4 region), placed horizontally.

5

Step 5: Blue Not Equal + Green 4 + Purple 5 + Red 2 + Yellow 0 + Yellow 3 --(Arrows ⑧⑨⑩⑪⑫)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (5-5, 4-4, 3-3, 3-2, 0-0). The domino halves left that in Blue Not Equal region must be different 4+5+0+3 (one domino half is 6 pips, already confirmed by step 2). The answer is 4-4 (one 4s into Green 4 region), placed horizontally; 5-5 (one 5s into Purple 5 region), placed horizontally; 2-3 (2 into Red 2 region, 3 down into blank), placed vertically; 0-0 (one 0s into Yellow 0 region), placed vertically; 3-3 (one 3s into Yellow 3 region), placed horizontally.

🎥 NYT Pips Smart Solving Strategy 🧠 | One Hint That Changes Everything

The kind of Pips Hint experienced solvers look for before committing to a move

💡 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.

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