POOPLE ANSWERS

APRIL 7, 2026 · PUZZLE #236

BUSY to POOP.

One shortest route in 6 moves.

00
BUSY
START
01
BURY
LETTER 3
02
BURN
LETTER 4
03
BORN
LETTER 2
04
BOON
LETTER 3
05
BOOP
LETTER 4
06
POOP
GOAL

Why this route takes 6 moves

BUSY and POOP differ in 4 letter positions. The shortest accepted-word route needs 2 additional moves; the third and fourth letters change more than once.

Start by changing the third letter: BUSY → BURY. Near the goal, BOOP is one letter from POOP; the last move changes its first letter.

Every letter change

  1. BUSY → BURY: change letter 3 from S to R.
  2. BURY → BURN: change letter 4 from Y to N.
  3. BURN → BORN: change letter 2 from U to O.
  4. BORN → BOON: change letter 3 from R to O.
  5. BOON → BOOP: change letter 4 from N to P.
  6. BOOP → POOP: change letter 1 from B to P.
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