POOPLE ANSWERS

MAY 26, 2026 ยท PUZZLE #285

MUTE to POOP.

One shortest route in 6 moves.

00
MUTE
START
01
CUTE
LETTER 1
02
COTE
LETTER 2
03
COME
LETTER 3
04
COMP
LETTER 4
05
COOP
LETTER 3
06
POOP
GOAL

Why this route takes 6 moves

MUTE and POOP differ in 4 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: MUTE โ†’ CUTE. Near the goal, COOP is one letter from POOP; the last move changes its first letter.

Every letter change

  1. MUTE โ†’ CUTE: change letter 1 from M to C.
  2. CUTE โ†’ COTE: change letter 2 from U to O.
  3. COTE โ†’ COME: change letter 3 from T to M.
  4. COME โ†’ COMP: change letter 4 from E to P.
  5. COMP โ†’ COOP: change letter 3 from M to O.
  6. COOP โ†’ POOP: change letter 1 from C to P.