POOPLE ANSWERS

FEBRUARY 18, 2026 ยท PUZZLE #188

GOTH to POOP.

One shortest route in 5 moves.

00
GOTH
START
01
BOTH
LETTER 1
02
BOTS
LETTER 4
03
BOOS
LETTER 3
04
BOOP
LETTER 4
05
POOP
GOAL

Why this route takes 5 moves

GOTH and POOP differ in 3 letter positions. The shortest accepted-word route needs 2 additional moves; the first and fourth letters change more than once.

Start by changing the first letter: GOTH โ†’ BOTH. Near the goal, BOOP is one letter from POOP; the last move changes its first letter.

Every letter change

  1. GOTH โ†’ BOTH: change letter 1 from G to B.
  2. BOTH โ†’ BOTS: change letter 4 from H to S.
  3. BOTS โ†’ BOOS: change letter 3 from T to O.
  4. BOOS โ†’ BOOP: change letter 4 from S to P.
  5. BOOP โ†’ POOP: change letter 1 from B to P.