NYT Pips Hint, Answer & Solution for December 28, 2025

Dec 28, 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

Sunday, December 28, 2025, wraps up the weekend with a thoughtfully balanced trio of Pips NYT puzzles, edited by Ian Livengood and perfectly suited for community-driven solving.

The Easy puzzle (#465) by Ian Livengood eases solvers in with clean equals regions and approachable sums—an ideal grid for sharing first impressions, swapping a quick Pips Hint, and comparing opening moves.

Medium (#467), crafted by Rodolfo Kurchan, invites more discussion with its mix of unequal regions, empty cells, and carefully placed sum targets. It’s the kind of puzzle where posting partial solutions and asking “Did you see this constraint?” becomes part of the fun.

Hard (#471), also by Kurchan, delivers a satisfying Sunday challenge, featuring multiple high-value sum zones, structured equals blocks, and greater-than checks that encourage collaboration, debate, and shared breakthroughs.

A relaxed but engaging Sunday puzzle set—perfect for sharing hints, solutions, and that final “got it” moment together.

Written by Nikii

Puzzle Analyst – Lucas

💡 Progressive Hints

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

💡 Hint #1 - So easy

Just do it.

💡 Hint #1 - Inventory Scan Forces Value Distribution

Begin by counting pip frequencies across all dominoes. The constraints immediately fix Red Not Equal as a complete set of 0–1–2–3, lock Blue 6 into matching 3s, and force Light Blue 8 to be entirely built from 2s. This early inventory check defines the puzzle’s backbone.

💡 Hint #2 - Greater-Than Rule Anchors the Only High Pip

With Purple >3 requiring a value above 3 and only one such option available, the placement becomes forced. Use greater-than regions to anchor rare high pips and stabilize the surrounding grid.

💡 Hint #3 - Sum Region Collapses Through Repetition

Once remaining 2-pip dominoes are identified, the Light Blue 8 region resolves automatically as repeated 2s. Filling repeated-sum regions early helps eliminate large branches of uncertainty.

💡 Hint #4 - Endgame by Exhaustion and Role Filling

With most regions satisfied, assign the final dominoes by exclusion. Match the last available values to Blue 6, Red Not Equal, and Yellow 0, completing the grid through clean elimination logic.

💡 Hint #1 - Global Inventory Sets the 15-Sum Formula

Before placing anything, scan all domino values. With no 3s available and limited 6s and 5s, every 15-sum region is mathematically forced to use the same 6+5+4 combination. This high-level count immediately narrows the entire puzzle.

💡 Hint #2 - Equals Regions Collapse to the Only Matching Value

When an Equals region requires identical pips, eliminate values already reserved for sum regions. Here, only 2s can satisfy Red Equal, which simultaneously forces Blue Equal to resolve as 0s.

💡 Hint #3 - Remaining Equals Lock in the Last Viable Pip

After resolving higher-value Equals zones, check what identical numbers remain. With other options exhausted, the Light Blue Equal region must use 1s, fixing both orientation and placement.

💡 Hint #4 - Greater-Than Clues Guide High-Value Placement

Use the >4 constraint to anchor a large pip first, then immediately pair it with the required 15-sum structure. Greater-than regions work best when solved together with nearby sum zones.

💡 Hint #5 - Exclusive Candidates Solve the Next Gate

When only one domino satisfies a greater-than condition, place it without hesitation. This forced move unlocks another 15-sum region, which again resolves cleanly as 6+5+4.

💡 Hint #6 - Finish the Last Sum by Elimination

With most high pips already allocated, the remaining 15-sum region has only one valid combination left. Let previous placements do the work and slot the final pieces with confidence.

💡 Hint #7 - Final Equals Confirm the Endgame

At the end, revisit unresolved Equals regions. With all other numbers consumed, the last matching pair becomes obvious, neatly sealing the solution.

🎨 Pips Solver

Dec 28, 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 28, 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 28, 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: [6-5], [6-3], [5-3], [4-3], [2-2].

2

Step 2: Purple 5+ Red Equal + Light Blue Equal + Green 4 + Yellow 5 --(Arrows ①②③④)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. The domino halves in Red Equal region must be 6. The domino halves in Light Blue Equal region must be 3. The answer is 5-6 (5 into Purple 5 region), placed horizontally; 6-3, placed vertically; 3-4 (4 into Green 4 region), placed vertically; 3-5 (5 into Yellow 5 region), placed horizontally.

3

Step 3: Blue Equal --(Arrows ⑤)

The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level

1

Step 1

Dominoes Include: [6-2], [3-2], [3-1], [3-0], [2-2], [2-0], [1-1]. The domino halves in Red Not Equal must be 0+1+2+3. The domino halves in Blue 6 region must be 3+3. The domino halves in Light Blue 8 region must be 2+2+2+2.

2

Step 2: Purple >3 --(Arrows ①)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. Only one domino with 6 pips more than 3. The answer is 6-2 (2 into Red Not Equal region), placed vertically.

3

Step 3: Light Blue 8 --(Arrows ②③④)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and remaining dominoes with 2 pips (3-2, 2-2, 2-0). The domino halves in this region must be 2+2+2+2. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally; 2-0 (0 into Red Not Equal region), placed horizontally; 2-3 (3 into Blue 6 region), placed horizontally.

4

Step 4: Blue 6 + Red Not Equal + Yellow 0 --(Arrows ⑤⑥⑦)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (3-1, 3-0, 1-1). The answer is 3-1 (3 into Blue 6 region, 1 left into blank), placed horizontally; 3-0 (3 into Red Not Equal region, 0 into Yellow 0 region), placed horizontally; 1-1 (one 1s into Red Not Equal region, one 1s left into blank), placed horizontally.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level

1

Step 1

Dominoes Include: [6-5], [6-2], [6-1], [5-4], [5-2], [5-0], [4-4], [4-2], [4-0], [2-2], [2-0], [1-1]. There are three Number 15 regions, only 3 domino halves that contain 6 pips, only 4 domino halves that contain 5 pips, no domino with 3 pips. Therefore, the domino halves in all Number 15 regions must be 6+5+4. Only 5 domino halves that contain 4 pips, need three for Number 15 regions.

2

Step 2: Red Equal + Blue Equal --(Arrows ①②)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. Need one domino with the same number placed in Red Equal region, only 2 pips can fit. Therefore, the domino halves in Red Equal must be 2, the domino halves in Blue Equal must be 0. The answer is 2-2 (whole domino), placed horizontally; 2-0 (0 into Blue Equal region), placed vertically.

3

Step 3: Light Blue Equal --(Arrows ③④)

Need one domino with the same number placed in this region, only left 1 pips can fit. Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and remaining dominoes with 1 pips (6-1, 1-1). The domino halves in this region must be 1. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically; 1-6 (6 into Purple 15 region), placed horizontally.

4

Step 4: Red >4 + Purple 15 --(Arrows ⑤⑥)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and step 2 and remaining dominoes (6-5, 6-2, 5-4, 5-2, 5-0, 4-4, 4-2, 4-0). Need one domino half more than 4, the domino halves in Purple 15 regions must be 6+5+4. The answer is 5-4 (5 into Red >4 region, 4 into Purple 15 region), placed horizontally; 5-6 (5 into Purple 15 region, 6 into Yellow 15 region), placed vertically.

5

Step 5: Purple >3 + Green 15 --(Arrows ⑦⑧⑨)

Confirmed by all left regions and remaining dominoes (6-2, 5-2, 5-0, 4-4, 4-2, 4-0). Only 4 pips from the domino [4-4] can fit in Purple >3 region. The domino halves in Green 15 region must be 6+5+4. The answer is 4-4 (one 4s into Purple >3 region), placed horizontally; 6-2 (2 right into blank), placed horizontally; 5-0 (0 into Blue Equal region), placed horizontally.

6

Step 6: Yellow 15 --(Arrows ⑩⑪)

Confirmed by all left regions and remaining dominoes (5-2, 4-2, 4-0). The domino halves in this region must be 6+5+4 (6s already come from step 4). The answer is 4-0 (0 into Blue Equal region, the Blue Equal region done), placed vertically; 5-2 (2 down into blank), placed vertically.

7

Step 7: Red Equal --(Arrows ⑫)

The answer is 2-4 (2 into Red Equal region, 4 up into blank), placed vertically.

🎥 NYT Pips Puzzle Solutions – Sunday, December 28, 2025 | Easy #465 · Medium #467 · Hard #471

A reliable Pips solution walkthrough, or simply enjoy watching clean logic unfold, this Sunday set delivers.

💡 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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