Pips Answer for Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Complete NYT Pips puzzle solution with interactive board and expert analysis.
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Nyt Pips easy answer for 2025-12-09
Answer for 2025-12-09
Solving this set of Pips puzzles was a fun ride! I started with the Easy grid, which I treat like a warm-up. I immediately looked for the 'empty' spots at (1,0) and (3,1).
In Pips, 'empty' usually means zero pips. Knowing (1,1) was part of a sum-3 region and next to an empty spot, I figured out the [3,1] domino had to be split between (1,0) and (1,1). That left the rest of the pieces like [2,2] and [0,6] to fall into place based on the sum-2 and equality constraints. Moving to the
Nyt Pips medium answer for 2025-12-09
Answer for 2025-12-09
Medium puzzle, the 'sum 0' at (4,1) was a dead giveaway. I knew whatever domino landed there had to have a 0. Then I saw the 'sum 9' region at (2,0) and (2,1).
Since the highest dominoes were [3,5] and [3,4], I had to be careful with how they overlapped. The 'sum 7' across the top row was the final anchor I used to lock everything in. The
Nyt Pips hard answer for 2025-12-09
Answer for 2025-12-09
Hard puzzle was a real brain-burner. The 'sum 17' region at the bottom left was the first thing I attacked. To get 17 from three cells, you almost always need two 6s and a 5. That limited my options for the [5,6] and [6,4] dominoes.
I also spent a good chunk of time on the 'equals' region at (2,3), (3,1), (3,2), (3,3), and (4,3). Having five cells all equal the same value is a huge restriction! I eventually realized they all had to be 2s or 3s to make the surrounding sums work. Once that middle section was stable, I just had to check the 'greater than 8' and 'less than 4' constraints at the bottom to finish it off.
What I Learned
This puzzle set really hammered home the importance of looking at 'extreme' regions first. High sums like 17 or low sums like 0 are your best friends because they have fewer combinations.
I also learned a neat trick with the 'equals' regions that span many cells: they act like a bridge that forces the values of several dominoes at once. If you find one cell in that chain, you've found them all. Also, I noticed that Rodolfo Kurchan loves to use long equality chains to lead you through the grid, which is a really clever way to design a puzzle.