POOPLE ANSWERS

JULY 1, 2026 ยท PUZZLE #321

WARE to POOP.

One shortest route in 5 moves.

00
WARE
START
01
PARE
LETTER 1
02
PORE
LETTER 2
03
POME
LETTER 3
04
POMP
LETTER 4
05
POOP
GOAL

Why this route takes 5 moves

WARE and POOP differ in 4 letter positions. The shortest accepted-word route needs 1 additional move; the third letter changes more than once.

Start by changing the first letter: WARE โ†’ PARE. Near the goal, POMP is one letter from POOP; the last move changes its third letter.

Every letter change

  1. WARE โ†’ PARE: change letter 1 from W to P.
  2. PARE โ†’ PORE: change letter 2 from A to O.
  3. PORE โ†’ POME: change letter 3 from R to M.
  4. POME โ†’ POMP: change letter 4 from E to P.
  5. POMP โ†’ POOP: change letter 3 from M to O.