Poople #441 answer & hints
Ladder 1
CART → POOP
CARTPOOP
Hint 1 Tap to reveal
The shortest path takes 5 steps after CART.
Hint 2 Tap to reveal
Your first move turns CART into a word matching C A _ T.
Hint 3 Tap to reveal
The word just before POOP is COOP.
Show the shortest path Spoiler
5 steps
startCART
step 1CAST
step 2COST
step 3COOT
step 4COOP
step 5POOP
There are 3 different shortest paths of 5 steps; this one uses the most common words.
Reasoning & candidate comparison Contains the answer
Why the 5-step CART ladder works
- Start at CART. A breadth-first search from POOP over the 2,398 words in the captured official dictionary places CART at distance 5. Each edge changes exactly one letter, so no shorter route exists in this captured graph.
- CART → CAST: change letter 3 from R to S. The shortest remaining distance falls from 5 to 4.
- CAST → COST: change letter 2 from A to O. The shortest remaining distance falls from 4 to 3.
- COST → COOT: change letter 3 from S to O. The shortest remaining distance falls from 3 to 2.
- COOT → COOP: change letter 4 from T to P. The shortest remaining distance falls from 2 to 1.
- COOP → POOP: change letter 1 from C to P. The shortest remaining distance falls from 1 to 0.
- 2 of the 16 accepted one-letter neighbours of CART can start a shortest route: CAST, CARP. Compare remaining distance, not just how similar the spelling looks to POOP.
| Candidate / approach | Assessment | Why |
|---|---|---|
| CART → CAST | Keeps a shortest route | CAST is in the captured game dictionary and changes one letter. It needs at least 4 more steps, making 5 from CART. |
| CART → CARP | Keeps a shortest route | CARP is in the captured game dictionary and changes one letter. It needs at least 4 more steps, making 5 from CART. |
| CART → DART | Valid word, longer route | DART is in the captured game dictionary and changes one letter. It needs at least 6 more steps, making 7 from CART, 2 more than the optimum. |
| CART → FART | Valid word, longer route | FART is in the captured game dictionary and changes one letter. It needs at least 5 more steps, making 6 from CART, 1 more than the optimum. |
What this does and does not establish
- This is our reproducible graph analysis using the dictionary snapshot captured 2026-10-30 (SHA-256 4e15f14a91768bd0b3c7104ed443dfd4499cbd0b4f7cdcbd1525fa83bfb6f5f9). It is not a claim that Poople published this exact route, or that its dictionary was identical on every historical date.
Show the Poople #441 answer card Spoiler
Every answer for #441
All Poople #441 answers in one table Spoiler
| Ladder | Clue | Shortest path |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CART → POOP | CART → CAST → COST → COOT → COOP → POOP |
Poople #441 FAQ
What date was Poople #441?
Poople #441 was the puzzle for Thursday, October 29, 2026.
How do I check Poople #441 without spoilers?
Open the hints one at a time on this page. There are 3 hints across 1 ladder, ordered from a gentle nudge to the full solution, and each shortest path stays hidden until you tap to show it.
Play today's Poople How to play
Also today
Chainle · #66