Poople answer archive

Poople #338 answer: TECH to POOP in 8 guesses (July 19, 2026)

The Poople puzzle for July 19, 2026 starts from TECH. The shortest ladder to POOP takes 8 guesses, and there are 31 different shortest routes. Here is one of them, using the most common words:

Puzzle numbers follow the original game, which switches to a new word at 08:00 UTC.

Want to play instead of peeking?

Replay Poople #338 yourself in the archive: same starting word, same word list, with undo and hints. Or play today's Poople and the unlimited mode. Curious about a ladder of your own? The Poople solver finds the shortest path between any two four-letter words.

Every shortest ladder from TECH

31 different ladders reach POOP in 8 guesses from TECH. Here are 8 of them, the first using the most common words:

1. TECH → MECH → MUCH → MUCK → BUCK → BOCK → BOOK → BOOP → POOP
2. TECH → MECH → MUCH → MUCK → HUCK → HOCK → HOOK → HOOP → POOP
3. TECH → MECH → MUCH → MUCK → LUCK → LOCK → LOOK → LOOP → POOP
4. TECH → MECH → MUCH → MUCK → MOCK → BOCK → BOOK → BOOP → POOP
5. TECH → MECH → MUCH → MUCK → MOCK → COCK → COOK → COOP → POOP
6. TECH → MECH → MUCH → MUCK → MOCK → HOCK → HOOK → HOOP → POOP
7. TECH → MECH → MUCH → MUCK → MOCK → LOCK → LOOK → LOOP → POOP
8. TECH → MECH → MUCH → MUCK → MOCK → MOOK → BOOK → BOOP → POOP

23 more shortest ladders exist beyond these 8; the solver below can list routes from any word.

First moves: which keep par and which don't

TECH has 1 legal neighbours in the original word list (change one letter, still a word). Only one first move keeps you on par: MECH. Every other legal move costs at least a guess.

How #338 compares

Par 8 puts #338 among the longer puzzles: only 2% of all Pooples so far have needed more guesses. The fastest ladders go through an -OO- word one step from POOP (LOOP, HOOP, COOP, POOL, POOR, POOF); the shortest route above reaches one in 7 guesses.

Replay Poople #338 yourself

Same starting word, same word list as the original, with undo and hints. Replays don't touch your streak. Play #338

How the shortest path is found

Every four-letter word in the game's word list is a node; two words are linked when they differ by one letter. A breadth-first search from POOP gives the minimum number of steps for every word. When several shortest ladders exist, the one shown prefers common words, so it reads naturally — the same idea the original game uses for its "yesterday" solution.