JANUARY 18, 2026 · PUZZLE #157
ROTE to POOP.💩
One shortest route in 5 moves.
00
ROTE
START01
COTE
LETTER 102
COME
LETTER 303
COMP
LETTER 404
COOP
LETTER 305
POOP
GOAL 💩Why this route takes 5 moves
ROTE and POOP differ in 3 letter positions. The shortest accepted-word route needs 2 additional moves; the first and third letters change more than once.
Start by changing the first letter: ROTE → COTE. Near the goal, COOP is one letter from POOP; the last move changes its first letter.
Every letter change
- ROTE → COTE: change letter 1 from R to C.
- COTE → COME: change letter 3 from T to M.
- COME → COMP: change letter 4 from E to P.
- COMP → COOP: change letter 3 from M to O.
- COOP → POOP: change letter 1 from C to P.
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