Recommended Free Tools
Spoilers ahead: This guide is for the NYT Pips puzzle published on Thursday, November 20, 2025—not November 20, 2026, which is still in the future. It includes hints for Easy, Medium, and Hard, followed by reported tile values and orientations. The text summaries do not establish every tile’s exact grid position, so use the game board to confirm placement.
How to use these Pips hints
Try the hints before reading the tile summaries if you want to solve each board yourself. Pips asks you to fill a grid with dominoes while meeting the rule shown in each colored region. The rule may require an exact pip total, equal values, different values, or a total above or below a threshold. A domino can cross a region boundary; count only the half or halves inside the region you are checking. See Forbes’ explanation of Pips and Yahoo Tech’s dated guide.
Start with the tightest constraint—often a single square with a required value, or a small region with a high or low target. The tile combinations below are reported summaries, not coordinate-by-coordinate maps; check the board diagram before placing them. Pips puzzles can sometimes allow more than one valid arrangement.
Easy hints and answers
Hint
Look for the smallest or most restrictive regions first, then check which halves of the listed dominoes fall inside each one.
#1 Best Overall
- Classic Game For Everyone: This set comes with bright color-dot dominoes, allowing for easier gameplay for kids & people with vision issues; comes with instructions for different gameplay variations
- Educational & Fun: This set of Double-Nine Dominoes teaches kids simple matching & math skills; play as a beginner, expert, & the whole family; for 2-6 players, adults & kids games for kids 8-12
- Durable Storage Tin: Includes convenient sturdy storage tin to keep all of your pieces organized; high-quality color dot dominoes are built to last for years to come
- Family Game Night: Keep the fun going with more Spin Master Games to add to your family’s board game shelf: Hedbanz, Beat the Parents, Family Feud, Jumanji, Wicked: The Game, Mind the Gap & more
- Spin Master Games & Toys: Looking for kids games, yard games & card games for adults, kids or teens? Find family favorite puzzles & games for family game night, travel games, kids puzzles & more
Reported tile summaries
| Region rule | Reported dominoes |
|---|---|
| Exact total 5 | One horizontal 5–0 |
| Equal 0 | One horizontal 5–0 and one vertical 0–0 |
| Less than 8 | One horizontal 5–5 and one vertical 2–2 |
| Exact total 3 | One vertical 2–2 and one vertical 3–1 |
These values and orientations come from the date-specific answer summary; they do not identify the grid coordinates. Check the published board diagram for exact placement.
Medium hints and answers
Hint
Use the equal-value and exact-total regions to narrow the available halves before tackling the all-different condition. For any domino that crosses a boundary, evaluate each region using only the half or halves within it.
Rank #2
- Classic Domino Set: Double 6 dominos set for adults with 28 professional dominoes in a wooden storage case; ideal for classic board games, family board games and memorable family game night
- Durable Quality: Premium melamine dominoes with deeply engraved, colorfast dots and smooth edges for comfortable play; built for years of domino & tile games at home or while traveling
- Fun for Everyone: Dominoes set for adults and kids designed for two to four players; perfect for family games, board games for adults, games for family night and screen-free entertainment
- Portable Storage: Compact wood case keeps every domino organized and protected; easy to pack for travel games, camping trips, vacations, parties and gatherings with friends or family
- Certified & Gift Ready: Tested to meet applicable toy safety requirements for the US, Canada, EU and UK; an excellent Christmas, birthday or holiday gift for anyone who enjoys classic games and juegos de mesa
Reported tile summaries
| Region rule | Reported dominoes |
|---|---|
| Equal 5 | One horizontal 5–5 |
| Exact total 0 | One horizontal 0–2 |
| Greater than 5 | One vertical 6–5 |
| Exact total 5 | One vertical 6–5 |
| All different | 0–2, 5–2, 3–0, 6–2, and 4–4 |
| Equal 2 | 5–2 and 6–2 |
| Exact total 4 | One vertical 4–4 |
The summary provides tile values and some orientations, but not a complete textual layout. Compare it with the published diagram rather than treating the list as a placement map.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Hard hints and answers
Hint
Begin with the 18-pip region. Its three occupied halves must contribute six pips apiece, which gives you a strong constraint for matching domino halves before filling the rest of the grid. Forbes’ indexed excerpt and the NerdsChalk walkthrough both point to a step-by-step Hard solution.
Rank #3
- All in One Case: uvcany dominoes set for adults comes with 4 high-quality wooden beech racks, a portable zippered case, 28 well-painted and durable tiles, and an instruction.
- 4 Beech Wooden Racks: The 4 wooden racks are customized for dominoes set for adults and each rack can hold 7 tiles. The racks are made of high-quality beech wood, solid surface, durable and odorless.
- Jumbo Size Tiles: our double six dominoes tiles measure 2.1"* 1.1"* 0.5", larger than the normal dominoes size(1.9"* 1.0"* 0.35"), providing a better gaming experience.
- Play Anytime, Anywhere: All pieces (including 4 wooden racks) can fit in the big zippered case, easily stored and carried out, perfect for travel or camping.
- Classic Board Game Set: The dominoes set for adults double 6 is great to relax with friends and family, it is a great gift choice for your birthday, party, Christmas, Halloween, and other festivals!
What can be confirmed
The available text summaries do not provide a reliable complete sequence of Hard-board placements. Yahoo Tech’s indexed Hard summary appears to pair a region label with a conflicting total, so that detail should not be used as a confirmed answer. Consult the NerdsChalk walkthrough and the board diagram to verify individual moves; the 18-pip deduction is the dependable starting point reflected in the available summaries.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Classic Game For Everyone: This set comes with bright color-dot dominoes, allowing for easier gameplay for kids and people with vision issues. Comes with instructions for gameplay variations
- Educational And Fun: This set of double-12 dominoes teaches kids simple matching and math skills. Perfect game for beginners and the whole family. Train enthusiasts will love the brightly-colored toy trains
- Durable Storage Tin: Includes sturdy storage tin to keep all of your pieces organized. High quality color dot dominoes are built to last for years. Recommended for 1 or more players, ages 8+
- Family Game Night: Make memories with board games for kids 4-6, board games for kids 6-8 & board games for kids 8-12. take the fun outside with camping games & outdoor games for adults and family
- Spin Master Toys & Games: Looking for kids games, yard games & card games for grown ups, kids or teen? Shop everything from family game night, travel games, puzzles for adults & family games
Rank #4
- Complete Set: This dominoes set for adults includes 28 double six tiles and 4 sturdy domino racks for an organized game experience
- Domino Holder: Full-sized holders support 2 rows of dominoes for easy viewing. Anti-slip pads keep your dominos steady during play
- Classic Dominoes: Traditional black-dotted ivory tiles with numbers 1-6, perfect for double six dominoes, in a sleek black travel case
- Travel Ready: Compact, shockproof travel case with handle protects your dominos set and domino trays, making it ideal for travel and family game nights
- Perfect Dimensions: Dominoes 2"x1"x0.4", holders 7"x2.2"x0.8", and travel case 8.3"x6.3"x2.8" for easy storage and portability
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
