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NYT Pips Answers for December 13, 2025

NYT Pips answers for December 13, 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 a 10-square easy board to an 18-square hard one, a gap of 8 squares, with the hard board carrying 3 doubles against easy's 2 and 4 loose regions against 2. Constructed by Ian Livengood.

Sukie, Puzzle editor at EnergyPips

By Sukie · Puzzle editor

Easy — 10 squares, 5 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 10 squares this is a typical easy board — the average is 9.9 — so nothing about its size explains an unusually long or short solve.

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.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the = 0 region — the top centre single square — where the pips in this region must add up to exactly 0. 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 2 doubles: 1-1, 6-6. 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 = 0 region resolves to 0. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — easy board, December 13, 2025
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 0the top centre single square0
= 7the middle centre row of 26, 1
= 7the middle centre 3-square block1, 2, 4
= 11the middle left column of 25, 6
no rulethe bottom centre single square6
no rulethe bottom right single square3

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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

Medium — 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 7 sum regions have to carry the whole board.

At 18 squares this is 22% larger than the average medium board, which runs 14.8. 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.

18% 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 middle left 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 2 doubles: 1-1, 3-3. 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 = 1 region resolves to 1. Which half of which domino supplies each is still yours to work out.

Full answer — medium board, December 13, 2025
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
= 2the top centre column of 21, 1
no rulethe top centre single square2
= 9the top centre row of 23, 6
= 2the middle right column of 20, 2
= 1the middle left single square1
=the middle centre row of 23, 3
= 3the middle left column of 23, 0
no rulethe middle right single square4
=the bottom centre row of 24, 4
= 8the bottom centre row of 23, 5
= 1the bottom right single square1

Every tile and the squares it covers

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

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.

44% of its regions are loose against a norm of 29%, so this board is vaguer than usual — there is less exact arithmetic to anchor on and more reasoning by elimination.

Hint 1 — where to start

Start with the > 3 region — the middle centre single square — where the pips in this region must add up to more than 3. Work there first because only 3 combinations of values can fill it.

Hint 2 — what your tray forces

The tray carries 3 doubles: 5-5, 1-1, 4-4. A double is the only tile that fits wholly inside an all-equal region, and there are 4 here.

Hint 3 — the opening region's values

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

Full answer — hard board, December 13, 2025
How each region resolves.
RegionWhereValues
=the top left 3-square block5, 5, 5
= 6the top centre column of 23, 3
< 6the top right single square1
=the middle centre column of 22, 2
no rulethe middle centre single square6
> 3the middle centre single square4
=the middle centre 4-square block1, 1, 1, 1
=the bottom left row of 34, 4, 4
> 2the bottom right single square6

Every tile and the squares it covers

  • 1-2 → row 5 col 2 and row 4 col 2
  • 5-5 → row 1 col 1 and row 1 col 2
  • 3-1 → row 1 col 3 and row 1 col 4
  • 2-5 → row 3 col 2 and row 2 col 2
  • 6-3 → row 3 col 3 and row 2 col 3
  • 4-6 → row 7 col 3 and row 7 col 4
  • 1-1 → row 6 col 2 and row 6 col 3
  • 4-4 → row 7 col 1 and row 7 col 2
  • 1-4 → row 5 col 3 and row 4 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 December 13, 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 December 13, 2025 the hard board runs 18 squares across 9 regions against the easy board’s 10 and 6, and carries 4 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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