Poople Hints

Poople #431 · Mon, Oct 19

Poople #431 Answer: PEST to POOP

PEST POOP

Hints for Poople #431

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 letter first.
First plop (The first word)RevealHide
Good first moves: HEST, LEST, PEAT, POST.
Answer (Full shortest path)RevealHide

PEST → POST → LOST → LOOT → LOOP → POOP

All 9 shortest paths
  1. PEST → HEST → HOST → HOOT → HOOP → POOP
  2. PEST → LEST → LOST → LOOT → LOOP → POOP
  3. PEST → PEAT → PLAT → PLAP → PLOP → POOP
  4. PEST → PEAT → PLAT → PLOT → PLOP → POOP
  5. PEST → POST → COST → COOT → COOP → POOP
  6. PEST → POST → HOST → HOOT → HOOP → POOP
  7. PEST → POST → LOST → LOOT → LOOP → POOP
  8. PEST → POST → POSE → POME → POMP → POOP
  9. PEST → POST → POUT → POUR → POOR → POOP

Play Poople #431

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 #431 answer works

Poople #431 asks you to turn PEST 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 9 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 E to O: PEST → POST. 4 steps to go.
  2. Change the 1st letter from P to L: POST → LOST. 3 steps to go.
  3. Change the 3rd letter from S to O: LOST → LOOT. 2 steps to go.
  4. Change the 4th letter from T to P: LOOT → 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 PEST

PEST has 18 words one letter away in the Poople word list. Only 4 of them move you closer to POOP.

Of the others, 1 takes you further away and 13 keep you at the same distance.

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

Further away, so skip them: PESO.

Sideways, at the same distance from POOP, which costs you a step: BEST, FEST, JEST, NEST, PAST, PELT, PENT, PERT, REST, TEST, VEST, WEST, ZEST.

How hard is Poople #431?

At 5 steps, Poople #431 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 #431 answer?+−
Poople #431 (Oct 19, 2026) starts from PEST. The shortest path is PEST → POST → LOST → LOOT → LOOP → POOP.
How many steps does Poople #431 take?+−
The shortest path from PEST to POOP takes 5 steps. There are 9 shortest paths.
What is the first move in Poople #431?+−
The official best path starts PEST → POST. Other shortest paths may start differently; the hints above list every good first move.
Can Poople #431 be solved in fewer than 5 steps?+−
No. 5 steps is the minimum: every word one letter away from PEST is at least 4 steps from POOP.
What was the Poople answer the day before #431?+−
Poople #430 started from GIVE. The shortest path was GIVE → LIVE → LIME → LIMP → PIMP → POMP → POOP. Its hints are on the Poople #430 page in the archive.