Poople Hints

Poople #408 · Sat, Sep 26

Poople #408 Answer: YARD to POOP

YARD POOP

Hints for Poople #408

Sniff test (How many steps?)RevealHide
The shortest path takes 6 steps.
Which letter stinks? (Which letter changes first?)RevealHide
Change the 1st or 4th letter first.
First plop (The first word)RevealHide
Good first moves: BARD, CARD, WARD, YARN.
Answer (Full shortest path)RevealHide

YARD → WARD → WORD → WOOD → WOOL → POOL → POOP

All 9 shortest paths
  1. YARD → BARD → BARN → BORN → BOON → BOOP → POOP
  2. YARD → CARD → CARP → CAMP → COMP → COOP → POOP
  3. YARD → CARD → CARP → CAMP → COMP → POMP → POOP
  4. YARD → CARD → CORD → CORK → COOK → COOP → POOP
  5. YARD → WARD → WORD → WOOD → GOOD → GOOP → POOP
  6. YARD → WARD → WORD → WOOD → HOOD → HOOP → POOP
  7. YARD → WARD → WORD → WOOD → WOOF → POOF → POOP
  8. YARD → WARD → WORD → WOOD → WOOL → POOL → POOP
  9. YARD → YARN → BARN → BORN → BOON → BOOP → POOP

Play Poople #408

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: 6 steps Tricky

Finish in 6 steps for a Royal Flush

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How the Poople #408 answer works

Poople #408 asks you to turn YARD 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 6 steps. There are 9 different shortest paths; the one explained below is the path the official game shows.

Step-by-step explanation (spoiler)
  1. Change the 1st letter from Y to W: YARD → WARD. 5 steps to go.
  2. Change the 2nd letter from A to O: WARD → WORD. 4 steps to go.
  3. Change the 3rd letter from R to O: WORD → WOOD. 3 steps to go.
  4. Change the 4th letter from D to L: WOOD → WOOL. 2 steps to go.
  5. Change the 1st letter from W to P: WOOL → POOL. 1 step to go.
  6. Change the 4th letter from L to P: POOL → POOP. That spells POOP, so you are done.

First-move traps for YARD

YARD has 6 words one letter away in the Poople word list. 4 of them move you closer to POOP.

Of the others, 2 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: HARD, LARD.

How hard is Poople #408?

At 6 steps, Poople #408 is rated Tricky. Across the 105 Poople puzzles on this site, the shortest path averages 5.7 steps. Of the other puzzles, 57 were shorter, 33 had the same length and 14 were longer.

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

FAQ

What is the Poople #408 answer?+−
Poople #408 (Sep 26, 2026) starts from YARD. The shortest path is YARD → WARD → WORD → WOOD → WOOL → POOL → POOP.
How many steps does Poople #408 take?+−
The shortest path from YARD to POOP takes 6 steps. There are 9 shortest paths.
What is the first move in Poople #408?+−
The official best path starts YARD → WARD. Other shortest paths may start differently; the hints above list every good first move.
Can Poople #408 be solved in fewer than 6 steps?+−
No. 6 steps is the minimum: every word one letter away from YARD is at least 5 steps from POOP.
What was the Poople answer the day before #408?+−
Poople #407 started from FUNK. The shortest path was FUNK → BUNK → BONK → BOOK → BOOP → POOP. Its hints are on the Poople #407 page in the archive.