NYT Crossword Hints and Answers — Thursday, December 11

Understanding Pips: A Unique Puzzle Experience

Pips is a distinctive puzzle game that sets itself apart from other New York Times (NYT) games by focusing on numerical logic and strategic placement. Unlike word-based puzzles, Pips challenges players to use dominoes to meet specific conditions within a grid of colored zones. If you're looking for help with today's Pips puzzles, you've come to the right place.

This guide offers hints and solutions for the Easy and Medium levels, as well as a detailed walkthrough for the Hard level. Whether you're just starting out or looking for a challenge, this article will help you navigate the complexities of Pips.

How to Play Pips

Pips is played on a grid filled with multicolored boxes, each representing a unique condition. The goal is to place dominoes in these zones so that they meet the specified requirements. Each domino has two numbers, and you can rotate them by clicking or tapping to find the best fit.

In a medium-level puzzle, for example, there might be four colored zones. One zone could require the total number of pips to equal 12, while others might demand that the numbers be greater than a certain value. As the difficulty increases, the conditions become more complex.

Symbols and Their Meanings

Understanding the symbols used in Pips is essential to solving the puzzles. Here are some of the key symbols you may encounter:

• = – All pips in this group must be the same.
• ≠ – All pips in this group must be different.
• > – The pips in the tile must be greater than the listed number.
• < – The pips in this tile must be less than the listed number.
• A number (e.g., 12) – The pips must equal that exact number.
• Tiles with no color – These act as free spaces and can be any number.

To win, you must fulfill all conditions and fill every square in the grid. While some puzzles have only one correct solution, others—especially the harder ones—may allow for multiple valid arrangements.

Today’s Pips Answers

Below are the solutions for the Easy and Medium puzzles. For those tackling the Hard level, a full walkthrough is provided.

Today’s Easy Pips Solution

Today’s Medium Pips Solution

Today’s Hard Pips Walkthrough and Solution

For today’s hard puzzle, the layout resembles a snake-like S. There are two starting points: the pink 0 zone at the bottom and the orange 10 zone in the middle. Starting with the pink 0/4 zone is the easiest approach, while the orange 10 zone offers a greater challenge.

Starting with 0/4 helps you get started. The blank 0/3 fills the pink zone, leaving the 6/1 for the other half of the purple 10 zone. This setup is necessary because there aren't enough 4s or 3s to fill the teal = zone, but there are plenty of 1s.

Initially, I chose the 1/1 and 1/3, which turned out to be a mistake. Instead, using the 1/2 is the correct choice. This means the 4/3 should be used to fill the green 9 trio and start the dark blue 9 section.

The 6/5 starts the orange 10 zone and closes the dark blue 9. Since there aren’t enough 1s for the purple equal zone, the 5/1 goes into the orange zone. This leaves the 5/2 to fill the >1 pink square in the upper right corner.

The 1/3 actually fills the teal = zone, leaving the 2/2 to serve as the final tile for the purple = set.

This step-by-step approach ensures that all conditions are met and the puzzle is completed correctly. With practice and patience, even the hardest puzzles in Pips can be solved.