NYT Pips Answers for August 20, 2025
NYT Pips answers for August 20, 2025, a Wednesday: hints first, then the full solution for the easy, medium and hard boards. Take the hints in order and stop when you have enough — nothing below is revealed until you open it.
Today's set runs from an 8-square easy board to an 18-square hard one, a gap of 10 squares, with the hard board carrying 3 doubles against easy's 1 and 3 loose regions against 2. Constructed by Rodolfo Kurchan and Ian Livengood. Edited by Ian Livengood.
By Sukie · Puzzle editor
Easy — 8 squares, 4 dominoes
Two or more regions carry no rule at all today, which sounds generous and is not: unconstrained squares give you nothing to reason from, so the 3 sum regions have to carry the whole board.
At 8 squares this is 19% smaller than the average easy board, which runs 9.9. A smaller grid is more forgiving: a bad tile is fewer undos away from being fixed.
Its tightest sum target is 0, against a median of 5 across every board published. A target that low forces blanks and low values, and is usually the fastest way in.
Where the information is on this board
Ordered from most constrained to least — which is the order worth working them in. No values are given away here, only how much each region can tell you.
- = 0 (the top centre row of 3) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 0 — and exactly one combination of values satisfies it, so it is forced.
- = 4 (the bottom left single square) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 4 — and exactly one combination of values satisfies it, so it is forced.
- = 2 (the bottom centre row of 2) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 2. 2 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- no rule (the top left single square) — No rule. A single free square — useful as somewhere to park a value the constrained regions cannot take.
- no rule (the bottom centre single square) — No rule. A single free square — useful as somewhere to park a value the constrained regions cannot take.
Hint 1 — where to start
Start with the = 4 region — the bottom left single square — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 4. Work there first because exactly one combination of values can fill it, so it is fully forced before you place anything.
Hint 2 — what your tray forces
The tray carries 1 double: 0-0. Neither all-equal nor all-different regions appear today, so the doubles are unusually free — place them last.
Hint 3 — the opening region's values
The = 4 region resolves to 4. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.
Full answer — easy board, August 20, 2025
| Region | Where | Values |
|---|---|---|
| no rule | the top left single square | 6 |
| = 0 | the top centre row of 3 | 0, 0, 0 |
| = 4 | the bottom left single square | 4 |
| no rule | the bottom centre single square | 5 |
| = 2 | the bottom centre row of 2 | 1, 1 |
Every tile and the squares it covers
- 0-0 → row 1 col 2 and row 1 col 3
- 4-6 → row 2 col 1 and row 1 col 1
- 1-0 → row 2 col 4 and row 1 col 4
- 5-1 → row 2 col 2 and row 2 col 3
Rows and columns are counted from the top-left of the board, starting at 1.
Medium — 10 squares, 5 dominoes
3 doubles in a 5-tile tray is a lot, and doubles are the most constrained tiles you can be dealt. Placing them first is not a preference today, it is the route through.
At 10 squares this is 32% smaller than the average medium board, which runs 14.7. A smaller grid is more forgiving: a bad tile is fewer undos away from being fixed.
0% of its regions are loose against a norm of 42%, so this board is tighter than usual — more regions hand you a number outright, which is why it may have felt unusually tractable.
The tray holds 3 doubles against a typical 1.77. Doubles are the most constrained tiles you can be dealt, so this board hands you more forced placements than usual — an advantage, if you look for them first.
Its tightest sum target is 2, against a median of 5 across every board published. A target that low forces blanks and low values, and is usually the fastest way in.
Where the information is on this board
Ordered from most constrained to least — which is the order worth working them in. No values are given away here, only how much each region can tell you.
- = 2 (the middle centre single square) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 2 — and exactly one combination of values satisfies it, so it is forced.
- = 3 (the bottom left single square) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 3 — and exactly one combination of values satisfies it, so it is forced.
- = 2 (the top right column of 2) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 2. 2 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- = (the top centre column of 2) — every pip value in this region must be the same. 7 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- = (the middle centre 4-square block) — every pip value in this region must be the same. 7 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
Hint 1 — where to start
Start with the = 2 region — the middle centre single square — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 2. Work there first because exactly one combination of values can fill it, so it is fully forced before you place anything.
Hint 2 — what your tray forces
The tray carries 3 doubles: 3-3, 6-6, 1-1. A double is the only tile that fits wholly inside an all-equal region, and there are 2 here.
Hint 3 — the opening region's values
The = 2 region resolves to 2. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.
Full answer — medium board, August 20, 2025
| Region | Where | Values |
|---|---|---|
| = | the top centre column of 2 | 3, 3 |
| = 2 | the top right column of 2 | 1, 1 |
| = 2 | the middle centre single square | 2 |
| = | the middle centre 4-square block | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
| = 3 | the bottom left single square | 3 |
Every tile and the squares it covers
- 3-3 → row 1 col 3 and row 2 col 3
- 6-6 → row 3 col 3 and row 3 col 4
- 6-3 → row 4 col 2 and row 4 col 1
- 6-2 → row 3 col 2 and row 2 col 2
- 1-1 → row 1 col 4 and row 2 col 4
Rows and columns are counted from the top-left of the board, starting at 1.
Hard — 18 squares, 9 dominoes
Two or more regions carry no rule at all today, which sounds generous and is not: unconstrained squares give you nothing to reason from, so the 3 sum regions have to carry the whole board.
At 18 squares this is 32% smaller than the average hard board, which runs 26.4. A smaller grid is more forgiving: a bad tile is fewer undos away from being fixed.
The rule mix is 3 exact sums, 3 all-equal, 3 with no rule at all across 9 regions. The unconstrained regions are the ones worth noticing: they look like free squares and are actually the reason the rest of the board has to carry more weight.
Nothing here is far enough from the hard norm to explain an unusually fast or slow solve, which makes it a good board to practise the standard opening on: bound the exact sums first, work out where the doubles cannot go, then check for an orphan square before you touch a comparison region.
Where the information is on this board
Ordered from most constrained to least — which is the order worth working them in. No values are given away here, only how much each region can tell you.
- = 6 (the top left single square) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 6 — and exactly one combination of values satisfies it, so it is forced.
- = 2 (the middle left column of 2) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 2. 2 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- = 4 (the middle centre row of 2) — the pips in this region must add up to exactly 4. 3 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- no rule (the middle left single square) — No rule. A single free square — useful as somewhere to park a value the constrained regions cannot take.
- no rule (the middle left single square) — No rule. A single free square — useful as somewhere to park a value the constrained regions cannot take.
- = (the middle centre 4-square block) — every pip value in this region must be the same. 7 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- no rule (the middle left single square) — No rule. A single free square — useful as somewhere to park a value the constrained regions cannot take.
- = (the middle left column of 3) — every pip value in this region must be the same. 7 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
- = (the middle right column of 3) — every pip value in this region must be the same. 7 combinations of values would satisfy it in isolation.
Hint 1 — where to start
Start with the = 6 region — the top left single square — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 6. Work there first because exactly one combination of values can fill it, so it is fully forced before you place anything.
Hint 2 — what your tray forces
The tray carries 3 doubles: 4-4, 6-6, 5-5. A double is the only tile that fits wholly inside an all-equal region, and there are 3 here.
Hint 3 — the opening region's values
The = 6 region resolves to 6. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.
Full answer — hard board, August 20, 2025
| Region | Where | Values |
|---|---|---|
| = 6 | the top left single square | 6 |
| = 2 | the middle left column of 2 | 1, 1 |
| no rule | the middle left single square | 2 |
| no rule | the middle left single square | 3 |
| = 4 | the middle centre row of 2 | 2, 2 |
| = | the middle centre 4-square block | 5, 5, 5, 5 |
| no rule | the middle left single square | 6 |
| = | the middle left column of 3 | 4, 4, 4 |
| = | the middle right column of 3 | 6, 6, 6 |
Every tile and the squares it covers
- 2-1 → row 4 col 1 and row 3 col 1
- 2-3 → row 5 col 2 and row 5 col 1
- 4-6 → row 7 col 1 and row 6 col 1
- 1-6 → row 2 col 1 and row 1 col 1
- 4-4 → row 8 col 1 and row 9 col 1
- 6-6 → row 8 col 6 and row 9 col 6
- 5-5 → row 5 col 5 and row 5 col 6
- 2-5 → row 5 col 3 and row 5 col 4
- 6-5 → row 7 col 6 and row 6 col 6
Rows and columns are counted from the top-left of the board, starting at 1.
Questions about this day
- What is the answer to NYT Pips on August 20, 2025?
- The full solution for all three boards is on this page, below the hints. Two or more regions carry no rule at all today, which sounds generous and is not: unconstrained squares give you nothing to reason from, so the 3 sum regions have to carry the whole board.
- Can I see a hint without seeing the whole answer?
- Yes. Each difficulty has three hints in order — where to start, what your tray forces, then the values in the opening region — each behind its own disclosure, with the full solution last. Nothing is revealed until you open it.
- Are these the official New York Times boards?
- The puzzle data is the Times’ own, and this page reports and explains the solution. EnergyPips is not affiliated with The New York Times, and the boards are not reproduced here to play — to play, go to the Times. To play a free daily domino puzzle of our own, the rest of this site is that.
- Why is the hard board harder than the easy one?
- On August 20, 2025 the hard board runs 18 squares across 9 regions against the easy board’s 8 and 5, and carries 3 regions that give you no exact number to work from.
About these answers
EnergyPips is an independent site and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to The New York Times. This page reports and explains the solution to a published puzzle, constructed by Rodolfo Kurchan (easy, hard), Ian Livengood (medium) and edited by Ian Livengood — the board itself is not reproduced here to play. To play it, go to the official NYT Pips puzzle. To play a free daily domino puzzle of our own making, with a full archive, start here.
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