Poople #3: PICS to POOP

Path analysis

This route reaches POOP in 6 moves. Breadth-first search reaches every route with fewer moves first, so POOP cannot be reached in fewer than 6 moves from PICS.

Moves

6

Difficulty

Hard

Shortest paths

18

The dictionary has 18 equally short routes; the route below is one of them.

1. Move 1: PICS → PECS — change the 2nd letter from I to E.
2. Move 2: PECS → PEES — change the 3rd letter from C to E.
3. Move 3: PEES → PEEP — change the 4th letter from S to P.
4. Move 4: PEEP → PREP — change the 2nd letter from E to R.
5. Move 5: PREP → PROP — change the 3rd letter from E to O.
6. Move 6: PROP → POOP — change the 2nd letter from R to O.