FEBRUARY 6, 2026 · PUZZLE #176
BUOY to POOP.💩
One shortest route in 6 moves.
00
BUOY
START01
BURY
LETTER 302
BURN
LETTER 403
BORN
LETTER 204
BOON
LETTER 305
BOOP
LETTER 406
POOP
GOAL 💩Why this route takes 6 moves
BUOY and POOP differ in 3 letter positions. The shortest accepted-word route needs 3 additional moves; the third and fourth letters change more than once.
Start by changing the third letter: BUOY → BURY. Near the goal, BOOP is one letter from POOP; the last move changes its first letter.
Every letter change
- BUOY → BURY: change letter 3 from O to R.
- BURY → BURN: change letter 4 from Y to N.
- BURN → BORN: change letter 2 from U to O.
- BORN → BOON: change letter 3 from R to O.
- BOON → BOOP: change letter 4 from N to P.
- BOOP → POOP: change letter 1 from B to P.
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