Poople answer archive

Poople #396 answer: CARS to POOP in 5 guesses (September 15, 2026)

The Poople puzzle for September 15, 2026 starts from CARS. The shortest ladder to POOP takes 5 guesses, and there are 10 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 #396 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 CARS

10 different ladders reach POOP in 5 guesses from CARS. Here are 8 of them, the first using the most common words:

1. CARS → CABS → COBS → COOS → COOP → POOP
2. CARS → CADS → CODS → COOS → COOP → POOP
3. CARS → CAMS → CAMP → COMP → POMP → POOP
4. CARS → CAMS → CAMP → COMP → COOP → POOP
5. CARS → CANS → CONS → COOS → COOP → POOP
6. CARS → CAPS → COPS → COOS → COOP → POOP
7. CARS → CATS → COTS → COOS → COOP → POOP
8. CARS → CAWS → COWS → COOS → COOP → POOP

2 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

CARS has 23 legal neighbours in the original word list (change one letter, still a word). 8 of the 23 legal first moves keep you on par: CABS, CADS, CAMS, CANS, CAPS, CARP, CATS, CAWS. Moves that cost exactly one extra guess: BARS, CARB, CARD, CARE, CART, CURS, EARS, PARS. Moves that cost two or more: GARS, JARS, MARS, OARS, SARS, TARS, WARS.

How #396 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 #396 yourself

Same starting word, same word list as the original, with undo and hints. Replays don't touch your streak. Play #396

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.