Poople answer archive

Poople #363 answer: VOTE to POOP in 5 guesses (August 13, 2026)

The Poople puzzle for August 13, 2026 starts from VOTE. 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:

  1. VOTE
  2. COTE
  3. COME
  4. COMP
  5. COOP
  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 #363 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 VOTE

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

  1. VOTE → COTE → COME → POME → POMP → POOP
  2. VOTE → COTE → COME → COMP → POMP → POOP
  3. VOTE → COTE → COME → COMP → COOP → POOP
  4. VOTE → COTE → COTS → COOS → COOP → POOP
  5. VOTE → DOTE → DOME → POME → POMP → POOP
  6. VOTE → TOTE → TOME → POME → POMP → POOP
  7. VOTE → VOLE → POLE → POME → POMP → POOP
  8. VOTE → VOLE → POLE → POLL → POOL → POOP

First moves: which keep par and which don't

VOTE has 8 legal neighbours in the original word list (change one letter, still a word). 4 of the 8 legal first moves keep you on par: COTE, DOTE, TOTE, VOLE. Moves that cost exactly one extra guess: MOTE, NOTE, ROTE. Moves that cost two or more: VITE.

How #363 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 #363 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.