Poople answer archive

Poople #442 answer: FUSS to POOP in 6 guesses (October 31, 2026)

The Poople puzzle for October 31, 2026 starts from FUSS. The shortest ladder to POOP takes 6 guesses, and there are 8 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 #442 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 FUSS

8 different ladders reach POOP in 6 guesses from FUSS. Here they all are, the first using the most common words:

1. FUSS → CUSS → CUBS → COBS → COOS → COOP → POOP
2. FUSS → CUSS → CUPS → COPS → COOS → COOP → POOP
3. FUSS → CUSS → CUTS → COTS → COOS → COOP → POOP
4. FUSS → MUSS → MOSS → BOSS → BOOS → BOOP → POOP
5. FUSS → MUSS → MOSS → MOOS → BOOS → BOOP → POOP
6. FUSS → MUSS → MOSS → MOOS → COOS → COOP → POOP
7. FUSS → MUSS → MOSS → MOOS → MOOR → POOR → POOP
8. FUSS → SUSS → SUMS → SUMP → PUMP → POMP → POOP

First moves: which keep par and which don't

FUSS has 9 legal neighbours in the original word list (change one letter, still a word). 3 of the 9 legal first moves keep you on par: CUSS, MUSS, SUSS. Moves that cost exactly one extra guess: FESS, FUNS, FURS, FUSE, PUSS, WUSS.

How #442 compares

Par 6 puts #442 among the longer puzzles: only 13% 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 5 guesses.

Replay Poople #442 yourself

Same starting word, same word list as the original, with undo and hints. Replays don't touch your streak. Play #442

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.