POOPLE #367 · 16 Aug 2026
NEXT to POOP.
A little help for this word ladder. Open only the hints you need.
6shortest moves
5shortest paths
Moderateour distance-based rating
01A gentle nudgeJust the shortest length. No words revealed.
You can get from NEXT to POOP in 6 moves. That means 7 words, including the start.
02A little more directionFind out which letter to change first.
One shortest route starts by changing letter 3. You do not have to match a letter in POOP on every move.
03Your first stepping stoneReveal the first word of a shortest route.
Try NEAT. From there, you have 5 moves left.NEAT
04The full answerReady? Reveal every step to POOP.
NEXT · NEAT · BEAT · BOAT · BOOT · BOOP · POOP
- StartNEXTYour starting word
- Move 1NEATX — A · letter 3
- Move 2BEATN — B · letter 1
- Move 3BOATE — O · letter 2
- Move 4BOOTA — O · letter 3
- Move 5BOOPT — P · letter 4
- Move 6POOPB — P · letter 1
5 shortest paths in the checked word list. View the full explanation
Every step, explained.
Full solution below. Stop here if you want to keep solving.
- StartNEXTYour starting word
- Move 1NEATX — A · letter 3
- Move 2BEATN — B · letter 1
- Move 3BOATE — O · letter 2
- Move 4BOOTA — O · letter 3
- Move 5BOOPT — P · letter 4
- Move 6POOPB — P · letter 1
All 5 equivalent shortest paths
- NEXT · NEAT · BEAT · BOAT · BOOT · BOOP · POOP
- NEXT · NEAT · PEAT · PLAT · PLAP · PLOP · POOP
- NEXT · NEAT · PEAT · PLAT · PLOT · PLOP · POOP
- NEXT · NEST · HEST · HOST · HOOT · HOOP · POOP
- NEXT · NEST · LEST · LOST · LOOT · LOOP · POOP
Choices at every step
Legal choices change one letter. Shortest-route choices also reduce the remaining distance by one; the counts below refer to the route shown above.
| Word | Legal choices | On a shortest route | Next words on a shortest route |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEXT | 4 | 2 | NEAT, NEST |
| NEAT | 12 | 2 | BEAT, PEAT |
| BEAT | 20 | 1 | BOAT |
| BOAT | 11 | 1 | BOOT |
| BOOT | 20 | 1 | BOOP |
| BOOP | 12 | 1 | POOP |
Historical entry reconstructed from the official schedule available on 10 Nov 2026. Source and verification details.