Poople Hints

Poople #386 · Fri, Sep 4

Poople #386 Answer: RACK to POOP

RACK POOP

Hints for Poople #386

Sniff test (How many steps?)RevealHide
The shortest path takes 5 steps.
Which letter stinks? (Which letter changes first?)RevealHide
Change the 1st or 2nd letter first.
First plop (The first word)RevealHide
Good first moves: BACK, HACK, LACK, ROCK.
Answer (Full shortest path)RevealHide

RACK → ROCK → LOCK → LOOK → LOOP → POOP

All 12 shortest paths
  1. RACK → BACK → BOCK → BOOK → BOOP → POOP
  2. RACK → HACK → HOCK → HOOK → HOOP → POOP
  3. RACK → LACK → LOCK → LOOK → LOOP → POOP
  4. RACK → ROCK → BOCK → BOOK → BOOP → POOP
  5. RACK → ROCK → COCK → COOK → COOP → POOP
  6. RACK → ROCK → HOCK → HOOK → HOOP → POOP
  7. RACK → ROCK → LOCK → LOOK → LOOP → POOP
  8. RACK → ROCK → ROOK → BOOK → BOOP → POOP
  9. RACK → ROCK → ROOK → COOK → COOP → POOP
  10. RACK → ROCK → ROOK → HOOK → HOOP → POOP
  11. RACK → ROCK → ROOK → LOOK → LOOP → POOP
  12. RACK → ROCK → ROOK → ROOF → POOF → POOP

Play Poople #386

Try the ladder yourself before you open the answer. Old puzzles do not count toward your streak.

Unrolling…

Sniffing out the word list…

Shortest path: 5 steps Easy

Finish in 5 steps for a Royal Flush

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How the Poople #386 answer works

Poople #386 asks you to turn RACK into POOP by changing one letter at a time, and every word on the way has to be in the Poople word list. The shortest path takes 5 steps. There are 12 different shortest paths; the one explained below is the path the official game shows.

Step-by-step explanation (spoiler)
  1. Change the 2nd letter from A to O: RACK → ROCK. 4 steps to go.
  2. Change the 1st letter from R to L: ROCK → LOCK. 3 steps to go.
  3. Change the 3rd letter from C to O: LOCK → LOOK. 2 steps to go.
  4. Change the 4th letter from K to P: LOOK → LOOP. 1 step to go.
  5. Change the 1st letter from L to P: LOOP → POOP. That spells POOP, so you are done.

First-move traps for RACK

RACK has 12 words one letter away in the Poople word list. Only 4 of them move you closer to POOP.

Of the others, 2 take you further away and 6 keep you at the same distance.

Which first moves to avoid (may reveal the first move)

Further away, so skip them: RACE, RACY.

Sideways, at the same distance from POOP, which costs you a step: JACK, PACK, RANK, SACK, TACK, WACK.

How hard is Poople #386?

At 5 steps, Poople #386 is rated Easy. Across the 105 Poople puzzles on this site, the shortest path averages 5.7 steps. Of the other puzzles, 56 had the same length and 48 were longer. No puzzle on this site was shorter.

Try other words in the Poople solver, or play endless practice ladders in Poople Unlimited.

FAQ

What is the Poople #386 answer?+−
Poople #386 (Sep 4, 2026) starts from RACK. The shortest path is RACK → ROCK → LOCK → LOOK → LOOP → POOP.
How many steps does Poople #386 take?+−
The shortest path from RACK to POOP takes 5 steps. There are 12 shortest paths.
What is the first move in Poople #386?+−
The official best path starts RACK → ROCK. Other shortest paths may start differently; the hints above list every good first move.
Can Poople #386 be solved in fewer than 5 steps?+−
No. 5 steps is the minimum: every word one letter away from RACK is at least 4 steps from POOP.
What was the Poople answer the day before #386?+−
Poople #385 started from PERM. The shortest path was PERM → PERP → PEEP → PREP → PROP → POOP. Its hints are on the Poople #385 page in the archive.