Poople Hints

Poople #400 · Fri, Sep 18

Poople #400 Answer: CARE to POOP

CARE POOP

Hints for Poople #400

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 or 3rd or 4th letter first.
First plop (The first word)RevealHide
Good first moves: CAME, CARP, CORE, PARE.
Answer (Full shortest path)RevealHide

CARE → CAME → COME → COMP → COOP → POOP

All 13 shortest paths
  1. CARE → CAME → CAMP → COMP → COOP → POOP
  2. CARE → CAME → CAMP → COMP → POMP → POOP
  3. CARE → CAME → COME → COMP → COOP → POOP
  4. CARE → CAME → COME → COMP → POMP → POOP
  5. CARE → CAME → COME → POME → POMP → POOP
  6. CARE → CARP → CAMP → COMP → COOP → POOP
  7. CARE → CARP → CAMP → COMP → POMP → POOP
  8. CARE → CORE → COME → COMP → COOP → POOP
  9. CARE → CORE → COME → COMP → POMP → POOP
  10. CARE → CORE → COME → POME → POMP → POOP
  11. CARE → CORE → CORK → COOK → COOP → POOP
  12. CARE → CORE → PORE → POME → POMP → POOP
  13. CARE → PARE → PORE → POME → POMP → POOP

Play Poople #400

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

Advertisement

How the Poople #400 answer works

Poople #400 asks you to turn CARE 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 13 different shortest paths; the one explained below is the path the official game shows.

Step-by-step explanation (spoiler)
  1. Change the 3rd letter from R to M: CARE → CAME. 4 steps to go.
  2. Change the 2nd letter from A to O: CAME → COME. 3 steps to go.
  3. Change the 4th letter from E to P: COME → COMP. 2 steps to go.
  4. Change the 3rd letter from M to O: COMP → COOP. 1 step to go.
  5. Change the 1st letter from C to P: COOP → POOP. That spells POOP, so you are done.

First-move traps for CARE

CARE has 24 words one letter away in the Poople word list. Only 4 of them move you closer to POOP.

Of the others, 20 keep you at the same distance.

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

Sideways, at the same distance from POOP, which costs you a step: BARE, CAFE, CAGE, CAKE, CANE, CAPE, CARB, CARD, CARS, CART, CASE, CAVE, CURE, DARE, FARE, HARE, MARE, RARE, TARE, WARE.

How hard is Poople #400?

At 5 steps, Poople #400 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 #400 answer?+−
Poople #400 (Sep 18, 2026) starts from CARE. The shortest path is CARE → CAME → COME → COMP → COOP → POOP.
How many steps does Poople #400 take?+−
The shortest path from CARE to POOP takes 5 steps. There are 13 shortest paths.
What is the first move in Poople #400?+−
The official best path starts CARE → CAME. Other shortest paths may start differently; the hints above list every good first move.
Can Poople #400 be solved in fewer than 5 steps?+−
No. 5 steps is the minimum: every word one letter away from CARE is at least 4 steps from POOP.
What was the Poople answer the day before #400?+−
Poople #399 started from DUTY. The shortest path was DUTY → DULY → DULL → PULL → POLL → POOL → POOP. Its hints are on the Poople #399 page in the archive.