Poople answer archive

Poople #361 answer: NAME to POOP in 5 guesses (August 11, 2026)

The Poople puzzle for August 11, 2026 starts from NAME. The shortest ladder to POOP takes 5 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 #361 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 NAME

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

1. NAME → CAME → COME → POME → POMP → POOP
2. NAME → CAME → COME → COMP → POMP → POOP
3. NAME → CAME → COME → COMP → COOP → POOP
4. NAME → CAME → CAMP → COMP → POMP → POOP
5. NAME → CAME → CAMP → COMP → COOP → POOP
6. NAME → DAME → DOME → POME → POMP → POOP
7. NAME → SAME → SOME → POME → POMP → POOP
8. NAME → TAME → TOME → POME → POMP → POOP

First moves: which keep par and which don't

NAME has 9 legal neighbours in the original word list (change one letter, still a word). 4 of the 9 legal first moves keep you on par: CAME, DAME, SAME, TAME. Moves that cost exactly one extra guess: FAME, GAME, LAME, NAPE. Moves that cost two or more: NAVE.

How #361 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 #361 yourself

Same starting word, same word list as the original, with undo and hints. Replays don't touch your streak. Play #361

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.