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Pips Answer for Thursday, November 13, 2025

Complete NYT Pips puzzle solution with interactive board and expert analysis.

Progress 0/4 dominoes
3
11
15

Click a domino below or a cell on the board to reveal

Expert Puzzle Analysis

Deep insights from puzzle experts

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Nyt Pips easy answer for 2025-11-13

3
11
15

Answer for 2025-11-13

I started by looking at the Easy puzzle, where the small sum of 3 and the large sum of 11 immediately narrowed down which dominoes could fit.

For the target of 11, I knew the [6,5] or [5,6] was the only real option, which helped me place the [3,0] in the sum-of-3 spot since the other pieces were too big. Moving to the

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Nyt Pips medium answer for 2025-11-13

<5
6
2
2
6
=

Answer for 2025-11-13

Medium puzzle, I looked for the 'empty' cells first to clear some board space and then tackled the 'equals' region.

Since several cells had to have the same value, I cross-referenced the remaining dominoes like [4,4] and [0,0] to see what could repeat without breaking the grid. The

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Nyt Pips hard answer for 2025-11-13

=
3
10
<2
>14
<3
6
>2
<2

Answer for 2025-11-13

Hard puzzle was a real challenge; I focused on the 'greater than 14' region first because high-sum areas are usually where the big numbers like the [6,1] or [5,5] have to go.

I used a process of elimination for the 'less than 2' regions, which are usually magnets for the 0 and 1 pips. By tracking which dominoes were used on a scratchpad, I could see that the [3,6] and [4,6] had very limited spots left toward the end of the solve.

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What I Learned

One big thing I noticed today was how the 'empty' regions act as anchors that simplify the board by cutting off possible domino paths.

I also learned that in the Hard level, inequality constraints like 'greater than' or 'less than' are actually more helpful than exact sums because they rule out half the domino set instantly. A tricky move was in the Medium puzzle where I had to save the [1,2] domino for a sum region rather than using it for a simple equality check, which took me a second to realize.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the 'empty' region type mean in these puzzles?
It means those specific grid cells don't have pips assigned by a region rule, but they still must be covered by the dominoes you are placing to complete the board.
How do you handle the 'unequal' constraint in the Hard puzzle?
I look for cells that are touching or in a cluster where the pips cannot be the same value. It's often easiest to solve these last after you have used up the dominoes with doubles like [5,5] or [1,1].
Is it better to start with the big numbers or the small numbers?
I usually start with the most restrictive regions. If a sum is very high or very low, only one or two dominoes can possibly work, which gives you a solid starting point.