Poople answer archive

Poople #368 answer: JAYS to POOP in 5 guesses (August 18, 2026)

The Poople puzzle for August 18, 2026 starts from JAYS. The shortest ladder to POOP takes 5 guesses, and there are 2 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 #368 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 JAYS

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

1. JAYS → BAYS → BOYS → BOOS → BOOP → POOP
2. JAYS → JOYS → BOYS → BOOS → BOOP → POOP

First moves: which keep par and which don't

JAYS has 15 legal neighbours in the original word list (change one letter, still a word). 2 of the 15 legal first moves keep you on par: BAYS, JOYS. Moves that cost exactly one extra guess: DAYS, GAYS, JABS, JAGS, JAMS, JAWS, LAYS, NAYS, PAYS, RAYS, SAYS, WAYS. Moves that cost two or more: JARS.

How #368 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 #368 yourself

Same starting word, same word list as the original, with undo and hints. Replays don't touch your streak. Play #368

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.