Poople #446 answer & hints
Ladder 1
KILO → POOP
KILOPOOP
Hint 1 Tap to reveal
The shortest path takes 5 steps after KILO.
Hint 2 Tap to reveal
Your first move turns KILO into a word matching K I L _.
Hint 3 Tap to reveal
The word just before POOP is POOL.
Show the shortest path Spoiler
5 steps
startKILO
step 1KILL
step 2PILL
step 3POLL
step 4POOL
step 5POOP
There is only one shortest path (5 steps).
Reasoning & candidate comparison Contains the answer
Why the 5-step KILO ladder works
- Start at KILO. A breadth-first search from POOP over the 2,398 words in the captured official dictionary places KILO at distance 5. Each edge changes exactly one letter, so no shorter route exists in this captured graph.
- KILO → KILL: change letter 4 from O to L. The shortest remaining distance falls from 5 to 4.
- KILL → PILL: change letter 1 from K to P. The shortest remaining distance falls from 4 to 3.
- PILL → POLL: change letter 2 from I to O. The shortest remaining distance falls from 3 to 2.
- POLL → POOL: change letter 3 from L to O. The shortest remaining distance falls from 2 to 1.
- POOL → POOP: change letter 4 from L to P. The shortest remaining distance falls from 1 to 0.
- 1 of the 4 accepted one-letter neighbours of KILO can start a shortest route: KILL. Compare remaining distance, not just how similar the spelling looks to POOP.
| Candidate / approach | Assessment | Why |
|---|---|---|
| KILO → KILL | Keeps a shortest route | KILL is in the captured game dictionary and changes one letter. It needs at least 4 more steps, making 5 from KILO. |
| KILO → SILO | Valid word, longer route | SILO is in the captured game dictionary and changes one letter. It needs at least 5 more steps, making 6 from KILO, 1 more than the optimum. |
| KILO → KILN | Valid word, longer route | KILN is in the captured game dictionary and changes one letter. It needs at least 5 more steps, making 6 from KILO, 1 more than the optimum. |
What this does and does not establish
- This is our reproducible graph analysis using the dictionary snapshot captured 2026-11-03 (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 #446 answer card Spoiler
Every answer for #446
All Poople #446 answers in one table Spoiler
| Ladder | Clue | Shortest path |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | KILO → POOP | KILO → KILL → PILL → POLL → POOL → POOP |
Poople #446 FAQ
What date was Poople #446?
Poople #446 was the puzzle for Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
How do I check Poople #446 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.
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