Poople answer archive

Poople #339 answer: TEAL to POOP in 5 guesses (July 20, 2026)

The Poople puzzle for July 20, 2026 starts from TEAL. The shortest ladder to POOP takes 5 guesses, and there are 2 shortest routes. Here is one of them, using the most common words:

  1. TEAL
  2. TELL
  3. TOLL
  4. TOOL
  5. POOL
  6. POOP

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

Want to play instead of peeking?

Replay Poople #339 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 TEAL

2 different ladders reach POOP in 5 guesses from TEAL. Here they all are, the first using the most common words:

  1. TEAL → TELL → TOLL → POLL → POOL → POOP
  2. TEAL → TELL → TOLL → TOOL → POOL → POOP

First moves: which keep par and which don't

TEAL has 15 legal neighbours in the original word list (change one letter, still a word). Only one first move keeps you on par: TELL. Every other legal move costs at least a guess. Moves that cost exactly one extra guess: DEAL, PEAL, TEAM, TEAR, TEAT. Moves that cost two or more: HEAL, MEAL, REAL, SEAL, TEAK, TEAS, VEAL, WEAL, ZEAL.

How #339 compares

Par 5 is the most common Poople length: about 54% of all puzzles so far have par 5. 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 4 guesses.

Replay Poople #339 yourself

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

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.