NYT Pips Hints and Answers for August 22, 2025
If you’re anything like me, that little flash of excitement when the New York Times drops a new daily puzzle, yes, the good stuff, never really goes away. Enter NYT Pips, the upstart domino game that’s new on the block and already tangling up morning routines everywhere.
Below, you’ll find hints, solutions, and a smattering of (hopefully) useful, human-feeling commentary for every NYT Pips difficulty for August 22, 2025. Let’s jump in, and hey, if you’re feeling stuck, you’re not alone. I spent an entire subway ride just puzzling over Hard mode, and missed my stop again. It happens.
NYT Pips (Easy) Solution for August 22, 2025
Puzzle image for Easy:
Alright, the “Easy” label on this one is starting to feel tongue-in-cheek. The domino placements this morning were just sneaky enough to make me second guess the basics I learned as a kid. The solutions, left to right, top to bottom:
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Place the domino with 1 and 6 vertically: Put the 1 in the purple box, 6 out.
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Place the domino with 6 and blank vertically: The blank goes in the pink box, 6 out.
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Place the domino with 5 and 1 horizontally: The 1 in the green box, the 5 in the brown.
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The 3–4 domino goes vertical: 3 lands in the brown box, 4 stays out.
Finally, the famous twins: two 1s together, lying horizontally in the blue box.
Kind of satisfying when you finally drop that last domino, right? I still wish my grandpa could see me now, after all those rainy games by the fireplace.
NYT Pips (Medium) Solution for August 22, 2025
Puzzle image for Medium:
Medium mode: where you realize the training wheels have definitely come off. Today’s was a little trickier—enough to make me wave my coffee mug for a hint from the universe. Spoiler: the universe did not deliver, but here’s the answer anyway:
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Domino 4 and blank, horizontal: 4 out, blank in the purple box.
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Double 5s, horizontal: both nest inside the pink box, left side.
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Domino 5 and 6, horizontal: 5 in the green box, 6 in the purple.
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Domino 6 and 4, horizontal: 5 in the dark blue box, 6 finessed into the brown box. (Yes, the “5” again. Didn’t see that double dip coming.)
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And for the finale, the 1–1 domino vertically in what’s left of the dark blue box.
I’ll admit, I briefly suspected my cat had silently rearranged my pieces while I fetched a snack. No such luck. This one just made me sweat for it.
NYT Pips (Hard) Solution for August 22, 2025
Puzzle image for Hard:
Let’s be honest: Hard mode is where most of us start praying for some eldritch NYT Pips benevolence. Today’s was a handful, but oh, the feeling when you click that “Congratulations!” Even my neighbor, who claims to hate puzzles, peeked over to see what I was muttering about.
Here’s the breakdown, left to right (and good luck if you attempt it solo):
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5 and blank, horizontal: blank’s cozied into the light green box, 5 remains outside.
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Twins again: 6 and 6, horizontal, both sitting snug in the purple box (left side).
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6 and 3, vertical: 6 in the purple, 3 left out in the cold.
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Double 2s, vertical: snuggle them both into the pink box.
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1 and blank: 1 occupies the brown box while blank joins the light green box.
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Double blanks, vertical: parked right in the heart of the light green box’s middle.
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Blank and 2, horizontal: blank stays in the light green, 2 ventures into the pink box.
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1 and 4, vertical: 1 stays outside, 4 takes refuge in the dark blue box.
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4 and 3, horizontal: 4’s in the dark blue, 3 slides into the purple.
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3 and 2, vertical: 2 in the green, 3 in the purple.
Yes, it’s a lot. If at first your board looks like spilled cereal, you’re in the right place.
How to Play Pips?
For the blessedly uninitiated: NYT Pips is, at its core, a modern domino puzzle dressed in digital Sunday finery. Each board is a grid featuring several colored boxes. You’re given a certain set of dominoes (pips!) and the challenge is to place them so each domino fits both on the board and within the colored box constraints.
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A few quick tips—gleaned, sometimes painfully, from trial and error:
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Double-check domino values before placing (twice-bitten once shy, in my case).
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The colored boxes are your friends…and sometimes your worst enemies.
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Don’t be afraid to redo. Some moves only make sense in hindsight, like most of my life choices.
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Don’t try solving Hard mode with a conference call in the background. (Trust me.)
Most of all: have fun. Pips is still new, still finding its community. Don’t let it intimidate you—every day’s board is a shot at redemption and, if you’re lucky, a few minutes of feeling cleverer than yesterday.
