NYT Pips hints and answers, Friday, September 25, 2026
Easy, Medium and Hard, each with its own ladder: where to start, what goes there, one domino placed, then the full solution.
Play along
Fill every region to its rulePick a domino, then tap where it goes.
Pick a domino, then tap where it goes.
Pick a domino, then tap where it goes.
Tap a placed domino to pick it up. Keys: R rotates. Any arrangement that meets every rule counts.
The hint ladder
0 of 12 hints usedNudgeReveal nudge
Start with the cell that must be greater than 5 at row 2, column 1. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.
HintReveal hint
That cell is a 6. Only 3 dominoes have a 6: 6–6, 6–1, 4–6.
One wordReveal one word
Place the 6–1 domino with the 6 at row 2, column 1 and the 1 at row 1, column 1.
AnswerReveal answer
Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 6–6: R3C1→R4C1; 4–4: R2C3→R3C3; 1–5: R1C2→R1C3; 6–1: R2C1→R1C1; 4–6: R4C3→R4C2.
NudgeReveal nudge
Start with the cell that must equal 2 at row 1, column 1. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.
HintReveal hint
That cell is a 2. Only 4 dominoes have a 2: 2–3, 2–6, 4–2, 2–0.
One wordReveal one word
Place the 4–2 domino with the 4 at row 2, column 1 and the 2 at row 1, column 1.
AnswerReveal answer
Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 2–3: R3C3→R3C2; 1–1: R1C2→R1C3; 2–6: R2C3→R2C2; 3–1: R4C3→R4C2; 6–0: R1C4→R2C4; 4–2: R2C1→R1C1; 2–0: R4C1→R3C1.
NudgeReveal nudge
Start with the cell that must equal 0 at row 1, column 1. It has the fewest ways to be satisfied.
HintReveal hint
That cell is a 0. Only 6 dominoes have a 0: 4–0, 2–0, 0–0, 0–1, 5–0, 0–3.
One wordReveal one word
Place the 2–0 domino with the 2 at row 1, column 2 and the 0 at row 1, column 1.
AnswerReveal answer
Full solution (domino: first half → second half): 4–0: R9C1→R10C1; 5–2: R8C1→R7C1; 2–0: R1C2→R1C1; 5–3: R10C4→R9C4; 0–0: R9C6→R10C6; 1–6: R2C8→R2C7; 3–3: R6C7→R6C8; 4–6: R7C6→R6C6; 2–2: R10C7→R10C8; 0–1: R8C6→R8C7; 6–6: R3C3→R4C3; 5–0: R10C3→R10C2; 4–4: R3C7→R4C7; 0–3: R7C4→R8C4; 5–5: R1C4→R1C5; 2–6: R1C3→R2C3.
Hints drafted with AI and checked automatically for spoilers. How we write hints