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NYT Pips Answers for September 27, 2025

NYT Pips answers for September 27, 2025, a Saturday: 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 a 32-square hard one, a gap of 24 squares, with the hard board carrying 5 doubles against easy's 2 and 3 loose regions against 2. Constructed by Ian Livengood.

Sukie, Puzzle editor at EnergyPips

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 2 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.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the = 4 region — the middle left column of 2 — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 4. Work there first because only 3 combinations of values can fill it.

Hint 2 — what your tray forces

The tray carries 2 doubles: 2-2, 1-1. A double is the only tile that fits wholly inside an all-equal region, and there is one here.

Hint 3 — the opening region's values

The = 4 region resolves to 1, 3. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — easy board, September 27, 2025
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
no rulethe top right single square2
= 6the middle left row of 24, 2
= 4the middle left column of 23, 1
=the middle right column of 21, 1
no rulethe bottom left single square6

Every tile and the squares it covers

  • 6-1 → row 5 col 1 and row 4 col 1
  • 3-4 → row 3 col 1 and row 2 col 1
  • 2-2 → row 1 col 2 and row 2 col 2
  • 1-1 → row 3 col 2 and row 4 col 2

Rows and columns are counted from the top-left of the board, starting at 1.

Medium — 10 squares, 5 dominoes

80% of the regions on this board are loose — comparisons or unconstrained — so there is little to calculate from and most of the work is deciding where tiles cannot go.

At 10 squares this is 32% smaller than the average medium board, which runs 14.8. A smaller grid is more forgiving: a bad tile is fewer undos away from being fixed.

80% of its regions are loose against a norm of 42%, so this board is vaguer than usual — there is less exact arithmetic to anchor on and more reasoning by elimination.

The tray holds 5 doubles against a typical 1.79. 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.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the < 2 region — the top right single square — where the pips in this region must add up to less than 2. Work there first because only 2 combinations of values can fill it.

Hint 2 — what your tray forces

The tray carries 5 doubles: 0-0, 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4. No double can sit wholly inside an all-different region, and there is one on this board — so start by working out where they cannot go.

Hint 3 — the opening region's values

The < 2 region resolves to 0. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — medium board, September 27, 2025
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
< 2the top right single square0
≠the middle left 4-square block4, 2, 0, 1
> 2the middle left single square4
> 1the middle centre single square2
= 7the middle centre 3-square block1, 3, 3

Every tile and the squares it covers

  • 0-0 → row 1 col 3 and row 2 col 3
  • 1-1 → row 3 col 3 and row 4 col 3
  • 2-2 → row 2 col 2 and row 3 col 2
  • 3-3 → row 5 col 2 and row 5 col 3
  • 4-4 → row 2 col 1 and row 3 col 1

Rows and columns are counted from the top-left of the board, starting at 1.

Hard — 32 squares, 16 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 14 sum regions have to carry the whole board.

At 32 squares this is 23% larger than the average hard board, which runs 26.1. More squares means more placements to keep straight at once, and a mistake made early sits underneath more correct-looking work before you find it.

15% of its regions are loose against a norm of 29%, 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 5 doubles against a typical 3.11. 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 0, against a median of 4 across every board published. A target that low forces blanks and low values, and is usually the fastest way in.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the = 1 region — the middle centre single square — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 1. 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 5 doubles: 0-0, 2-2, 4-4, 3-3, 1-1. With 1 all-different and 3 all-equal regions on the board, those doubles are barred from the former and are the only tiles that fit wholly inside the latter — which usually pins two of them before you make a real decision.

Hint 3 — the opening region's values

The = 1 region resolves to 1. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — hard board, September 27, 2025
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
=the top centre 3-square block1, 1, 1
no rulethe middle left single square0
= 1the middle centre single square1
= 5the middle right single square5
no rulethe middle left single square0
= 2the middle centre single square2
≠the middle centre 5-square block2, 5, 3, 4, 1
= 3the middle centre single square3
= 4the middle centre single square4
=the middle centre row of 23, 3
= 2the middle centre single square2
= 0the middle centre row of 20, 0
= 2the middle centre single square2
= 1the middle centre single square1
= 4the middle centre single square4
= 18the middle centre row of 36, 6, 6
= 1the middle centre column of 20, 1
=the middle centre column of 22, 2
= 3the bottom centre single square3
= 4the bottom centre single square4

Every tile and the squares it covers

  • 1-3 → row 7 col 3 and row 7 col 2
  • 1-2 → row 2 col 2 and row 3 col 2
  • 0-0 → row 2 col 1 and row 3 col 1
  • 1-5 → row 2 col 4 and row 3 col 4
  • 6-1 → row 5 col 5 and row 4 col 5
  • 2-2 → row 3 col 3 and row 4 col 3
  • 4-2 → row 7 col 6 and row 7 col 7
  • 0-1 → row 6 col 3 and row 5 col 3
  • 6-2 → row 5 col 7 and row 6 col 7
  • 6-0 → row 5 col 6 and row 4 col 6
  • 4-4 → row 4 col 4 and row 5 col 4
  • 5-3 → row 2 col 9 and row 3 col 9
  • 3-3 → row 3 col 5 and row 3 col 6
  • 4-3 → row 3 col 7 and row 3 col 8
  • 0-2 → row 4 col 7 and row 4 col 8
  • 1-1 → row 1 col 3 and row 2 col 3

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 September 27, 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 14 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 September 27, 2025 the hard board runs 32 squares across 20 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 Ian Livengood — the board itself is not reproduced here to play. To play it, go to the Times. To play a free daily domino puzzle of our own making, with a full archive, start here.

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