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Need a nudge for the NYT Pips puzzles dated August 25, 2026? Start with the spoiler-light clues below and stop before the solution tables if you want to finish the boards yourself. The answers cover Easy, Medium, and Hard; the dated answer archive is independent of The New York Times.
August 25, 2026: choose a puzzle
The three boards use different numbers of dominoes and region rules. The figures below come from EnergyPips’ dated archive, not from a New York Times difficulty measurement.
| Tier | Dominoes and cells | Constraint mix |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 5 dominoes; 10 cells | 6 regions, including three exact-sum regions, two single-cell regions marked <2, and one free cell |
| Medium | 7 dominoes; 14 cells | 8 regions, including all-equal groups, an exact-sum region, >2 and <2 single cells, and a free cell |
| Hard | 11 dominoes; 22 cells | 9 regions, including exact sums and a six-cell all-different region |
For the rules, place every domino so its two halves fill adjacent cells, then satisfy the condition printed on each colored region. An exact-number region must total its target; an all-equal region needs matching pip counts, while an all-different region needs distinct counts. A > or < clue applies its threshold to the indicated region, and a free cell has no additional region condition. Erik Kain’s Forbes walkthrough links to the official Pips game.
Hints before the answers
Easy
- Begin at the top-right single cell marked <2. Its value can only be 0 or 1.
- The tray includes a 3–3 double. The board has no all-equal or all-different regions, so that double is not restricted by either of those rules.
- The top-right cell is 1.
Medium
- Start at the top-centre single cell marked >2.
- The tray has 0–0 and 6–6 doubles, and the board has four all-equal regions that can accommodate doubles.
- The top-centre cell is 4.
Hard
- Start with the top-left two-cell region whose exact total is 2.
- The tray includes 6–6, 1–1, and 3–3 doubles. Neither half of a double can be placed with its matching half inside the all-different region.
- The two values in the sum-2 region are 0 and 2.
Full regional answers
Spoilers: the tables give every region’s values. They do not specify which domino occupies each pair of cells.
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Easy
| Region | Values |
|---|---|
| Top-left row of 2; total 9 | 5, 4 |
| Top-centre block of 3; total 9 | 3, 0, 6 |
| Top-right single cell; <2 | 1 |
| Bottom-centre single cell; <2 | 1 |
| Bottom-centre row of 2; total 9 | 6, 3 |
| Bottom-right free cell | 5 |
Medium
| Region | Values |
|---|---|
| Top-centre single cell; >2 | 4 |
| Top-centre column of 2; all equal | 6, 6 |
| Top-right column of 3; total 5 | 0, 0, 5 |
| Middle-centre free cell | 2 |
| Middle-centre column of 2; all equal | 3, 3 |
| Middle-centre row of 2; all equal | 6, 6 |
| Bottom-left single cell; <2 | 1 |
| Bottom-centre row of 2; all equal | 6, 6 |
Hard
| Region | Values |
|---|---|
| Top-left column of 2; total 2 | 0, 2 |
| Top-centre row of 2; total 9 | 6, 3 |
| Top-centre free cell | 3 |
| Middle-left column of 2; total 6 | 0, 6 |
| Middle-centre row of 2; total 4 | 4, 0 |
| Middle-centre column of 2; total 10 | 5, 5 |
| Middle-centre block of 6; all different | 4, 0, 3, 1, 2, 5 |
| Middle-centre column of 2; total 9 | 3, 6 |
| Bottom-left row of 3; total 8 | 1, 1, 6 |
Domino placements for Easy and Medium
Coordinates are one-based: row 1 is the top row and column 1 is the leftmost column. Each listed pair gives the two cells occupied by that domino, in pip order.
Easy
- 3–3: row 1, column 4; row 2, column 4
- 6–1: row 2, column 3; row 2, column 2
- 0–1: row 1, column 5; row 1, column 6
- 4–5: row 1, column 2; row 1, column 1
- 6–5: row 2, column 5; row 2, column 6
Medium
- 6–3: row 4, column 3; row 3, column 3
- 4–6: row 1, column 3; row 1, column 4
- 3–2: row 2, column 3; row 2, column 2
- 6–5: row 3, column 5; row 3, column 6
- 0–0: row 1, column 6; row 2, column 6
- 6–6: row 2, column 4; row 3, column 4
- 1–6: row 4, column 1; row 4, column 2
A solving route for Hard
The Hard board’s smallest exact target is the top-left total of 2, which fixes that region at 0 and 2. From there, use each placed domino to test neighboring region conditions rather than treating the sums as isolated clues. The sequence below summarizes the placement route in the dated Forbes walkthrough; it is a route through the board, not a substitute for the region-value table above.
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- Use the 1–1 domino with a 6 to satisfy the bottom-left region totaling 8.
- Use 6–6 and 3–5 across the regions totaling 9 and 10.
- Place 5–0 in the region totaling 4.
- Use 4–6 in the region totaling 6, 0–2 in the region totaling 2, and 0–6 in the region totaling 9.
- Put 3–3 in the free cell.
- Finish the six-cell all-different region with 3–1, 0–4, and 5–2. Each of its six cells then has a different value.
Sources and date
The solutions above are for the August 25, 2026 edition, as listed by the EnergyPips dated answer archive. EnergyPips states that it is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by The New York Times. A third-party solver lists the day’s boards as #1250 Easy, #1251 Medium, and #1252 Hard, but those identifiers are not independently verified here as NYT-published puzzle numbers: NYT Game Solver’s August 25 page.
Quick Recap
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