How to play Poople

Rules, worked examples, and tips for shorter ladders.

The rules

1. You're given a starting four-letter word.
2. On each turn, change exactly one letter to form a new word. You can't add, remove, or rearrange letters — only swap one letter for another, in place.
3. Every word in your chain has to be a real English word.
4. You can't reuse a word you've already used in the same puzzle.
5. Keep going until you reach POOP. The fewer steps, the better — we show you "par," which is the shortest route we could find.

A worked example

Starting from SAFE, one valid route to POOP looks like this:

Each step changes exactly one letter, and every rung — includingPOME (an old word for a fruit like an apple) and POMP— is a real word. That's a five-step ladder.

Strategy tips

Work backward from POOP too

POOP's near neighbors are useful landmarks: words like POOL,POOR, POOF, POOL, PROP, andCOOP are all one letter away from it. If you can steer your ladder toward any word that looks close to one of POOP's neighbors, you're probably close to the end.

Change the letter that's "most different" first

POOP is O-O-P shaped in its last three letters, with a P up front. Compare your current word to POOP letter by letter, and prioritize changing whichever position is furthest from matching — that usually cuts your remaining distance down faster than changing a letter that's already close.

Use short, common connector words

Words like SOME, SORE, CORE, CORD, and other high-frequency four-letter words tend to have lots of neighbors, which makes them useful "hub" words to pass through when you're not sure what to do next.

Don't be afraid to detour

Sometimes the shortest-looking move is a dead end because it doesn't connect to anything else useful. A ladder that takes one extra step but keeps your options open is often better than backing yourself into a corner.

Stuck?

Hit Give up during a puzzle and we'll show you one working route from wherever you are to POOP. It counts as a loss for your streak, but it's a good way to learn new connector words for next time.

Common mistakes

Changing more than one letter mentally, then guessing wrong

It's easy to picture the word you eventually want and type toward it, accidentally changing two letters at once instead of one. If a guess gets rejected and you're sure the word is real, this is almost always the reason — double-check you only moved one position.

Fixating on rare words

If you know one obscure, unusual word that seems to fit, it's tempting to force your ladder toward it. More often than not, there's a shorter route through a boring, common word you haven't considered yet.

Ignoring the letter that's already correct

Once one of your four letters already matches POOP in that position, resist the urge to change it "just in case." Changing a letter that's already correct almost always adds a wasted step.

Glossary

Word ladder

A chain of words where each word differs from the last by exactly one letter.

Rung

A single word in the ladder, including the starting word and POOP itself.

Par

The length of the shortest possible ladder from the day's starting word to POOP.

Connector word

A word with many one-letter neighbors, useful as a flexible stepping stone.

Dead end

A word whose only unused neighbors don't lead anywhere useful, forcing a detour.