Poople Solver

How the Poople Solver works

Poople is a word ladder game. You start with a four-letter word and change exactly one letter at a time, making a real word at every step, until you arrive at POOP. The Poople Solver treats every word in its list as a dot on a map and draws a line between two words whenever they differ by a single letter. Then it starts at POOP and spreads outwards one step at a time (computer scientists call this breadth-first search). The first time it bumps into your start word, it has found the shortest possible ladder.

Because the search begins at the goal and not at your word, one pass gives the distance for every word in the list. That's why answers show up instantly, even on an old phone. The same engine powers the practice game on the home page, where it sets par and picks your hints.

How to use the Poople Solver

1. Type your four-letter start word into the box. Only the letters A to Z work.
2. Press Solve. You'll see how many steps the shortest ladder takes, plus up to five different routes.
3. Read each route from top to bottom, one word per row. The letter that changes at each step is highlighted, so you know exactly what to type next.
4. Only want a nudge? Try the Poople Hint page first. It gives clues one at a time without showing the answer.

Reading the results

The step count is the fewest moves that can possibly work. If your own ladder was longer, there was a shortcut somewhere, and comparing the two is the quickest way to spot it. When several routes appear they all have the same length, so none of them scores better. Pick the one built from words you know best, since a common word is less likely to be refused by whichever game you're playing.

If the Poople Solver says no path exists, your start word is cut off from POOP in our list. That can happen with unusual words, or after you've removed words that another game didn't accept.

Why a word can be rejected

No two word lists are quite the same. Ours comes from an openly licensed English dictionary, and the original Poople game may accept a slightly different set. So once in a while the Poople Solver suggests a word the game won't take. When that happens, click the cross next to the word. It goes onto your removed list, the ladder is recalculated without it, and the next best route appears straight away.

Removed words are saved in your browser and skipped by the practice game too. You can bring any of them back from the removed words panel, or restore everything with one button.

Tips for studying ladders

• Solve a word you struggled with and lay the shortest route next to your own.
• Look at which words show up in the last steps. POOL, POOR, COOP and LOOP are common gateways to the goal.
• Change your start word by one letter and see how the step count shifts. It's a nice way to get a feel for the map.
• Treat the Poople Solver as a teacher, not a shortcut. Finding the route yourself is the whole fun of the game.

New to the rules? Read the How to Play guide, or jump straight into the unlimited practice game.

Poople Solver FAQ