Poople #306: ARTS to POOP

Path analysis

This route reaches POOP in 8 moves. Breadth-first search reaches every route with fewer moves first, so POOP cannot be reached in fewer than 8 moves from ARTS.

Moves

8

Difficulty

Brutal

Shortest paths

13

The dictionary has 13 equally short routes; the route below is one of them.

1. Move 1: ARTS → ANTS — change the 2nd letter from R to N.
2. Move 2: ANTS → ANDS — change the 3rd letter from T to D.
3. Move 3: ANDS → AIDS — change the 2nd letter from N to I.
4. Move 4: AIDS → BIDS — change the 1st letter from A to B.
5. Move 5: BIDS → BODS — change the 2nd letter from I to O.
6. Move 6: BODS → BOOS — change the 3rd letter from D to O.
7. Move 7: BOOS → BOOP — change the 4th letter from S to P.
8. Move 8: BOOP → POOP — change the 1st letter from B to P.