NYT Pips Hint, Answer & Solution for December 27, 2025

Dec 27, 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

Saturday, December 27, 2025 brings a fresh trio of Pips NYT puzzles, edited by Ian Livengood, offering a clean and satisfying logic challenge for every type of solver.

Easy #469

A relaxed warm-up with balanced sum regions and one clear equals clue.

Perfect for easing into the puzzle day and sharing quick Pips Hints with friends.

Medium #472

A step up in complexity, mixing empties with comparison rules that keep the grid lively.

Great for solvers who enjoy steady logic flow and swapping partial solutions.

Hard #474

A dense, rewarding challenge with layered regions and classic Pips structure.

Ideal for experienced players comparing notes and celebrating that final breakthrough.

A compact, well-rounded Saturday set—easy to start, satisfying to finish, and always better when you share the puzzle experience.

Written by Ander

Puzzle Analyst – Sophia

💡 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: [6-6], [6-5], [5-5], [4-2], [4-0], [2-0]. Need one domino with the same number placed in Purple Equal region and one domino sum to be 10 placed in Blue 10 region.

💡 Hint #1 - Inventory First: Spot the Unique High-Value Trigger

Begin with a full domino inventory and compare it against sum and inequality regions. When only one domino can supply a required high value, it becomes a natural bridge that fixes orientation and reduces early ambiguity.

💡 Hint #2 - Exploit Single-Solution Sum Regions

A sum region that can be satisfied by only one pip combination immediately locks placement. Use this forced sum to anchor the grid and simultaneously satisfy nearby greater-than constraints.

💡 Hint #3 - Chain Inequalities to Restrict Options

Greater-than and less-than regions work best in pairs. Once one side is fixed by a sum, the inequality instantly eliminates alternatives, allowing you to resolve multiple cells with minimal trial.

💡 Hint #4 - Resolve Target Sums with Remaining Pip Pairs

As the domino pool shrinks, remaining sum regions often collapse to a single valid pair. Match these exact totals to place dominoes confidently without backtracking.

💡 Hint #5 - Endgame Fill: Let the Last Domino Speak

When all constraints are satisfied and only one space remains, the final unused domino must fit. This clean finish confirms earlier deductions and validates the full solution path.

💡 Hint #1 - Count the Zeros First

Scan all available dominoes and count how many halves contain 0 pips. When a 0-sum region exists, lock in how many zero halves are required early to avoid wasting them later.

💡 Hint #2 - Combine Sum + Inequality Clues

When sum regions intersect with greater-than or fixed-sum singles, test only the highest or lowest viable pip pairs. This quickly eliminates most candidates and fixes orientation.

💡 Hint #3 - Use High Pips to Anchor Big Sums

Large sum regions (like 11 or 12) almost always require high-value pips. Place these first, then let equals and zero-sum regions absorb the remaining forced values.

💡 Hint #4 - Let Remaining Dominoes Speak

After several placements, pause and review what dominoes are left. Often a small sum (like 2) becomes forced once higher combinations are no longer available.

💡 Hint #5 - Resolve Not-Equal Before Equals

Unequal regions restrict value combinations sharply. Solve these before equals regions to prevent accidental symmetry that later causes contradictions.

💡 Hint #6 - Finish with Pure Elimination

At the endgame, equals regions and large remaining sums usually have only one viable configuration. Match the last unused dominoes directly to their required totals.

🎨 Pips Solver

Dec 27, 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 27, 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 27, 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], [6-5], [5-5], [4-2], [4-0], [2-0].

2

Step 2: Purple Equal + Blue 10 --(Arrows ①②)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. Need one domino with the same number placed in Purple Equal region and one domino sum to be 10 placed in Blue 10 region. Therefore, the domino halves in Purple Equal region must be 6, the domino halves in Blue 10 region must be 5+5. The answer is 6-6, placed vertically; 5-5, placed horizontally.

3

Step 3: Green 4 + Red 6 + Light Blue 5 + Yellow 8 --(Arrows ③④⑤⑥)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (6-5, 4-2, 4-0, 2-0). There is no single placement to this step. e.g: The domino halves in Green 4 region must be 2+2. The domino halves in Red 6 region must be 0+6. The domino halves in Light Blue 5 region must be 5+0. The domino halves in Yellow 8 region must be 4+4. The answer is 2-0 (0 into Red 6 region), placed vertically; 6-5, placed horizontally; 0-4 (0 into Light Blue 5 region), placed vertically; 4-2, placed horizontally.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level

1

Step 1

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

2

Step 2: Yellow 6 + Red 6 + Light Blue >2 --(Arrows ①②)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. Only one domino with 6 pips (6-5). Therefore, the domino halves in Red 6 region must be 5+1. The answer is 6-5 (6 into Yellow 6 region), placed horizontally; 1-3 (3 into Light Blue >2 region. can't be 1-4, confirmed by all regions), placed horizontally.

3

Step 3: Light Blue >0 + Blue 6 + Green <1 --(Arrows ③④)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (5-5, 4-1, 3-0, 2-1, 2-0). The domino halves in Blue 6 region must be 4 +2. The answer is 1-4 (1 into Light Blue >0 region), placed vertically; 2-0 (0 into Green <1 region), placed horizontally.

4

Step 4: Red >1 + Purple 4 --(Arrows ⑤⑥)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (5-5, 3-0, 2-1). The domino halves in Purple 4 region must be 1+3. The answer is 2-1 (2 into Red >1 region), placed vertically; 3-0 (0 right into blank), placed horizontally.

5

Step 5: Left Blank --(Arrows ⑦)

The answer is 5-5 (whole domino), placed horizontally.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level

1

Step 1

Dominoes Include: [6-3], [6-2], [6-0], [5-5], [5-3], [5-2], [5-1], [4-4], [4-1], [4-0], [3-2], [3-1], [2-1], [2-0], [0-0]. Only 5 domino halves that contain 0 pips, need two for Light Blue 0 region.

2

Step 2: Purple 11 + Red 2 + Light Blue >3 --(Arrows ①②)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. The domino halves in Purple 11 region must be 6+5. The answer is 6-2 (2 into Red 2 region), placed vertically; 5-5 (one 5s into Light Blue >3 region), placed vertically.

3

Step 3: Yellow Equal + Green 12 + Purple >2 + Light Blue 0 + Purple 4 --(Arrows ③④⑤⑥)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and remaining dominoes with 6 pips (6-3, 6-0). The domino halves in Yellow Equal region must be 3. The domino halves in Green 12 region must be 6+6. The domino halves in Light Blue 0 region must be 0+0. The answer is 3-6, placed vertically; 3-5 (5 into Purple >2 region), placed vertically; 6-0, placed horizontally; 4-0 (4 into Purple 4 region, confirmed by no domino left that with the number 4-5), placed horizontally.

4

Step 4: Bottom Yellow 5 + Green 2 + Blue 2 --(Arrows ⑦⑧)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (5-2, 5-1, 4-4, 4-1, 3-2, 3-1, 2-1, 2-0, 0-0). The domino halves in Green 2 region must be 1+1. The answer is 5-1 (5 into Bottom Yellow 5 region), placed vertically; 2-1 (2 into Blue 2 region), placed vertically.

5

Step 5: Red Not Equal + Light Blue 1 + Middle Yellow 5 + Yellow Equal --(Arrows ⑨⑩⑪⑫)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (5-2, 4-4, 4-1, 3-2, 3-1, 2-0, 0-0). The domino halves in Red Not Equal region must be 4+2+1. The answer is 1-4 (1 into Light Blue 1 region), placed horizontally; 5-2 (5 into Middle Yellow 5 region), placed horizontally; 1-3 (3 into Yellow Equal region), placed vertically; 3-2 (3 into Yellow Equal region, 2 down into blank), placed vertically.

6

Step 6: Blue Equal + Green 10 --(Arrows ⑬⑭⑮)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (4-4, 2-0, 0-0). The domino halves in Blue Equal region must be 0. The domino halves in Green 10 region must be 2+4+4. The answer is 0-0, placed vertically; 0-2, placed vertically; 4-4, placed vertically.

🎥 NYT Pips Puzzle Solutions – Saturday, December 27, 2025 | Easy • Medium • Hard

Pause, compare, and share your results with other solvers—Pips puzzles are always better when solved together

💡 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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