NYT Pips Hint, Answer & Solution for December 4, 2025

Dec 4, 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

Thursday, December 4, 2025, arrives with a lively trio of Pips NYT puzzles edited by Ian Livengood—a lineup that feels tailor-made for community-powered solving.

If you enjoy trading Pips Hints, posting in-progress grids, or comparing first-move theories with fellow solvers, today’s puzzles provide an excellent playground for shared deduction.

Easy #397, crafted by Livengood, opens the day with a warm, approachable structure.

You get a crisp 1-sum opener, a compact two-cell equals pairing, a tidy 11-sum triple corridor, and a vertical 12-sum domino duo that locks in mid-grid logic beautifully.

Add in the final equals block—and suddenly everything syncs together with that classic “Now it clicks!” moment.

This is exactly the kind of puzzle where players naturally talk about where they started, what Pips Hint triggered their breakthrough, and which deduction path felt the cleanest.

Medium #400, also by Livengood, brings even more fuel for group analysis.

The puzzle features dual 6-sum anchors, a long and satisfying equals chain, four precisely placed 5-sum pockets, and multiple empty cells that shape your branching strategy.

A well-positioned greater-than-3 checkpoint adds tension and sparks community discussion—Was this your key constraint? Did you solve the central corridor first, or anchor the chain from the edges?

It's a grid made for lively chat threads, shared screenshots, and clever hint exchanges.

Hard #405, designed by Rodolfo Kurchan, delivers the full social-solver experience.

Starting with a deceptively simple 1-sum clue, it builds into a web of layered equals regions, 0-sum pivots, structural inequalities, and a standout 11-sum power pair that often becomes the centerpiece of community debate.

It’s the sort of puzzle where solvers gather to say, “Okay—what finally broke it for you?”

Perfect for group deduction, shared logic breakdowns, and step-by-step solution storytelling.

So bring your puzzle buddy, open your grid, exchange your best Pips Hints, and enjoy the friendly chaos—

December 4 is a social solver’s favorite kind of Thursday.

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], [5-3], [5-1], [4-4], [0-0]. The domino halves in Red Equal region must be 5.

💡 Hint #1 - Observe

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

💡 Hint #2 - Yellow Number (5)

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

💡 Hint #3 - Purple Number (6)

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

💡 Hint #1 - Observe

Dominoes Include: [6-4], [5-3], [5-0], [4-4], [4-3], [4-2], [4-0], [3-3], [2-1], [1-1], [1-0], [0-0]. Only one domino with 6 pips (6-4). Only 2 domino halves that contain 5 pips (5-3, 5-0). The domino halves in Green Number (11) region must be 5+6. Only 5 domino halves that contain 0 pips, need 3 domino halves for Number (0) regions.

💡 Hint #2 - Red Equal

The domino halves in this region must be 3.

💡 Hint #3 - Blue Equal

The domino halves in this region must be 4.

💡 Hint #4 - Blue Not Equal

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

🎨 Pips Solver

Dec 4, 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 4, 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 4, 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], [5-1], [4-4], [0-0].

2

Step 2: Yellow Number (12) --(Arrows ①)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. The answer is 6-6, placed vertically.

3

Step 3: Red Equal + Purple Number (1) + Light Blue Purple Number (11) --(Arrows ②③④)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes. The domino halves in Red Equal region must be 5+5. The domino halves in Light Blue Purple Number (11) region must be 3+4+4. The answer is 1-5 (1 into Purple Number (1) region), placed horizontally; 3-5 (3 into Light Blue Purple Number (11) region), placed horizontally; 4-4 (whole domino into Light Blue Purple Number (11) region), placed vertically.

4

Step 4: Blue Equal --(Arrows ⑤)

The answer is 0-0, placed horizontally.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level

1

Step 1

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

2

Step 2: Green Number (5) + Purple Number (5) + Yellow Number (5) --(Arrows ①②③)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1. The domino halves in Yellow Number (5) region must be 2+3. The answer is 0-5 (0 into Light Blue Equal), placed horizontally; 5-2, placed vertically; 3-0 (0 into Light Blue Equal), placed horizontally.

3

Step 3: Light Blue Equal --(Arrows ④)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 2 and remaining dominoes. The answer is 0-0 (whole domino in this region), placed vertically.

4

Step 4: Blue Number (5) --(Arrows ⑤)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes. The answer is 5-6 (6 left into blank), placed vertically.

5

Step 5: Red Number (6) + Purple Number (6) --(Arrows ⑥⑦)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes. The domino halves in Purple Number (6) region must be 3+3. The answer is 6-3 (3 into Purple Number (6) region), placed vertically; 3-2 (2 down into blank), placed vertically.

6

Step 6: Red Greater Than (3) --(Arrows ⑧)

The answer is 4-1 (1up into blank), placed vertically.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level

1

Step 1

Dominoes Include: [6-4], [5-3], [5-0], [4-4], [4-3], [4-2], [4-0], [3-3], [2-1], [1-1], [1-0], [0-0]. Only one domino with 6 pips (6-4). Only 2 domino halves that contain 5 pips (5-3, 5-0). The domino halves in Green Number (11) region must be 5+6. Only 5 domino halves that contain 0 pips, need 3 domino halves for Number (0) regions.

2

Step 2: Light Blue Greater Than (4) + Green Greater Than (3) + Red Equal --(Arrows ①②③)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1. The domino halves in Red Equal region must be 3. The answer is 5-3 (5 into Light Blue Greater Than (4) region), placed horizontally; 4-3 (4 into Green Greater Than (3) region), placed horizontally; 3-3 (one 3s down into Blue Not Equal region), placed vertically.

3

Step 3: Blue Equal + Up Purple Number (1) + Yellow Greater Than (1) --(Arrows ④⑤⑥)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes. The domino halves in Blue Equal region must be 4. The domino halves in Up Purple Number (1) region must be 0+1. The answer is 4-0 (0 into Up Purple Number (1) region), placed vertically; 1-2 (2 into Yellow Greater Than (1) region), placed vertically; 4-4, placed vertically.

4

Step 4: Middle Purple Number (1) + Yellow Number (0) + Green Number (11) --(Arrows ⑦⑧⑨)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes and step 1. The answer is 1-0 (1 into Middle Purple Number (1) region), placed vertically; 0-5 (0 into Yellow Number (0) region, 5 into Green Number (11) region), placed horizontally; 6-4 (6 into Green Number (11) region, 4 into Blue Not Equal region), placed horizontally.

5

Step 5: Blue Not Equal + Light Blue Number (0) + Down Purple Number (1) --(Arrows ⑩⑪⑫)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes. The domino halves in Blue Not Equal region must be different. The answer is 0-0 (one 0s into Blue Not Equal region), placed vertically; 1-1 (one 1s into Blue Not Equal region), placed horizontally; 2-4 (2 into Blue Not Equal region, 4 left into blank), placed horizontally.

🎥 Watch this quick clip to catch a smart domino placement that clears a tricky constraint in the December 4, 2025 Pips NYT puzzle

Bookmark this as your daily Pips Hint — then try it on your grid to see how much faster you can solve.

💡 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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