NYT Pips Hint, Answer & Solution for October 26, 2025

Oct 26, 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

The October 26, 2025 puzzle lineup delivers structured brilliance across three escalating challenges.

Edited by Ian Livengood, this collection blends crisp logic with technical precision — ideal for solvers who love to test their skills and measure progress.

Easy Puzzle #57 by Heidi Erwin — 4 dominoes, compact grid, clean logical flow.

Medium Puzzle #51 by Rodolfo Kurchan — 13 dominoes, 12 distinct constraint zones with complex equality and sum interactions.

Hard Puzzle #94 by Heidi Erwin — 8 dominoes, layered sums and equals, elegant yet demanding structure.

Analyze grids, compare IDs, and optimize your solving patterns.

Each solution showcases your mastery, precision, and logical consistency — a data-driven victory for every solver.

💡 Progressive Hints

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

💡 Hint #1 - Observe
The domino halves in the Number (17) area must be 6+6+5.
💡 Hint #1 - Observe
The domino halves in the Number (22) area must be 6+6+5+5. Only 2 domino halves that contain 6 pips for Number (22). The domino halves in the Number (10) area must be 5.
💡 Hint #2 - Purple Equal
The domino halves in this space must be 1.
💡 Hint #3 - Blue Equal
The domino halves in this space must be 0.
💡 Hint #1 - Observe
Except for the equa area, all other area must be less than or equal 5. The domino halves in the Purple Equal area must be 4. The domino halves in the Yellow Equal area must be 5.
💡 Hint #2 - Yellow Equal
The answer is 5-3, placed horizontally.
💡 Hint #3 - Green Number (5)
The answer is 0-2, placed vertically.

🎨 Pips Solver

Oct 26, 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 October 26, 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 October 26, 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
Based on the image, observe the shapes and domino pip counts. The domino halves in the Number (17) area must be 6+6+5.
2
Step 2: Equal
The domino halves in this space must be 5. The answer is 5-5, placed vertically.
3
Step 3: Greater than (7)
The domino halves in this space must add up to more than 7. Confirmed by neighboring area and remaining dominoes. The answer is 6-6, placed vertically; 2-5, placed vertically.
4
Step 4
Based on the last image, finished.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level

1
Step 1
Based on the image, observe the shapes and domino pip counts. The domino halves in the Number (22) area must be 6+6+5+5. Only 2 domino halves that contain 6 pips for Number (22). The domino halves in the Number (10) area must be 5.
2
Step 2: Purple Equal
Only one domino halves that contain 3 pips. Relative position reasoning can be obtained, the domino with the number 3-1 must placed horizontally. The domino halves in this space must be 1. The answer is 3-1, placed horizontally; 1-1, placed horizontally.
3
Step 3: Number (22)
The domino halves in this place must be 6+6+5+5. Confirmed by neighboring area and remaining dominoes and relative position. The answer is 5-6, placed horizontally; 5-5, placed horizontally; 6-4, placed horizontally.
4
Step 4: Blue Equal
Confirmed by neighboring area and remaining dominoes. The domino halves in this space must be 0. The answer is 0-5, placed horizontally; 0-0, placed horizontally.
5
Step 5: Number (0)
Confirmed by neighboring area and remaining dominoes with 0 pips. The answer is 0-2, placed vertically; 4-0, placed vertically.
6
Step 6: Purple Not Equal
The domino halves in this space must be different. Confirmed by neighboring area and remaining dominoes. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically.
7
Step 7
Based on the last image, finished.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level

1
Step 1
Based on the image, observe the shapes and domino pip counts. Except for the equa area, all other area must be less than or equal 5. The domino halves in the Purple Equal area must be 4. The domino halves in the Yellow Equal area must be 5.
2
Step 2: Yellow Equal
The domino halves in this space must be 5. Confirmed by neighboring area. The answer is 5-3, placed horizontally.
3
Step 3: Green Number (5)
Everything in this space must add up to 5. Confirmed by neighboring area and remaining dominoes with 2 pips, the answer is 0-2, placed vertically.
4
Step 4: Number (3)
Everything in this space must add up to 3. Confirmed by neighboring area and remaining dominoes with 3 pips, the answer is 1-3, placed vertically.
5
Step 5: Red Number (5)
Everything in this space must add up to 5. Confirmed by neighboring area and remaining dominoes. The answer is 1-5, placed vertically; 4-2, placed vertically; 1-1, placed horizontally.
6
Step 6
Based on the last image, finished.

💡 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