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NYT Pips Answers for November 18, 2025

NYT Pips answers for November 18, 2025, a Tuesday: 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 2 and 1 loose region against 1. Constructed by Ian Livengood.

Sukie, Puzzle editor at EnergyPips

By Sukie · Puzzle editor

Easy — 8 squares, 4 dominoes

A 8-square board across 4 regions, with 1 exact sum to anchor it and 1 looser region to work around.

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.

25% of its regions are loose against a norm of 40%, so this board is tighter than usual — more regions hand you a number outright, which is why it may have felt unusually tractable.

Its tightest sum target is 8, against a median of 5 across every board published. A high target forces large values into a small space, which narrows the options just as sharply from the other direction.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the = 8 region — the bottom left row of 2 — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 8. Work there first because only 3 combinations of values can fill it.

Hint 2 — what your tray forces

The tray carries 2 doubles: 0-0, 4-4. 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 = 8 region resolves to 4, 4. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — easy board, November 18, 2025
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
=the top left row of 26, 6
=the top right column of 30, 0, 0
no rulethe middle left single square2
= 8the bottom left row of 24, 4

Every tile and the squares it covers

  • 0-0 → row 2 col 3 and row 3 col 3
  • 4-4 → row 3 col 1 and row 3 col 2
  • 2-6 → row 2 col 1 and row 1 col 1
  • 0-6 → row 1 col 3 and row 1 col 2

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

Medium — 16 squares, 8 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 4 sum regions have to carry the whole board.

At 16 squares this is a typical medium board — the average is 14.8 — so nothing about its size explains an unusually long or short solve.

22% 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.

Its tightest sum target is 1, 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.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the = 1 region — the top right 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 1 double: 2-2. 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 = 1 region resolves to 1. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — medium board, November 18, 2025
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 5the top left row of 21, 4
= 1the top right single square1
=the middle left 4-square block2, 2, 2, 2
=the middle centre row of 20, 0
no rulethe middle left single square1
=the middle centre column of 23, 3
no rulethe middle centre single square6
= 11the bottom left row of 26, 5
= 4the bottom centre single square4

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

3 doubles in a 9-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 18 squares this is 31% smaller than the average hard board, which runs 26.1. A smaller grid is more forgiving: a bad tile is fewer undos away from being fixed.

13% 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.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the = 3 region — the top centre single square — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 3. 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: 2-2, 5-5, 3-3. 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 = 3 region resolves to 3. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — hard board, November 18, 2025
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 9the top left column of 23, 6
= 3the top centre single square3
= 9the top centre 3-square block5, 2, 2
= 9the middle left column of 25, 4
= 9the middle centre 5-square block1, 2, 2, 2, 2
= 9the middle right column of 26, 3
=the bottom left row of 25, 5
no rulethe bottom centre single square4

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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 November 18, 2025?
The full solution for all three boards is on this page, below the hints. 3 doubles in a 9-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.
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 November 18, 2025 the hard board runs 18 squares across 8 regions against the easy board’s 8 and 4, and carries 1 region 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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