PoopleLadder

How to Play Poople

Here is how to play Poople on PoopleLadder. You start with a four-letter word and change it into POOP one letter at a time. Every step must be a real word, and the fewer steps you use, the better your score.

The Rules of Poople

  1. You get a four-letter start word. Everyone gets the same one each day.
  2. Change exactly one letter to make a new word. The other three letters stay put.
  3. The new word must be in the game's word list of common English words.
  4. You cannot use the same word twice on one ladder.
  5. Keep going until your word is POOP.

On the board, tap a letter slot (or use the arrow keys or 1–4), then tap or type the new letter and press Enter. Undo removes your last step and Start over clears the ladder.

A Worked Example: LAMP to POOP

LAMP is never a daily start word, so it makes a safe example. Its shortest ladder to POOP takes four steps:

  1. Startlamp
  2. Step 1lump
  3. Step 2pump
  4. Step 3pomp
  5. Step 4poop
  1. LAMP → LUMP: change the second letter, A to U.
  2. LUMP → PUMP: change the first letter, L to P. The word now starts like POOP.
  3. PUMP → POMP: change the second letter, U to O.
  4. POMP → POOP: change the third letter, M to O. Done in four steps, which is par.

Notice what did not work: going from LAMP straight toward an O, as in LAMP → LOMP, fails because LOMP is not a word. And WARP → WRAP would not count either, because rearranging letters is not allowed. When a move fails, the game tells you why, and Undo takes you back. Want to check another start word? The Poople solver shows the shortest ladder from any word in the list.

Scoring and Ratings

Each puzzle has a par, the length of the shortest possible ladder to POOP. Daily puzzles have a par between 3 and 6. When you finish you get a rating:

  • Perfect: your ladder is as short as par.
  • Great: one or two steps over par.
  • Good: three to five steps over par.
  • Finished: more than five over par, but you got there.

You also get a share card with one row of squares per step. A colored square marks the letter you changed, so friends can compare routes without seeing any words.

Tips for New Players

  • Get an O into the second and third positions early; POOP needs both.
  • Words one step from POOP include POOL, POOR, HOOP, LOOP, COOP and PROP.
  • Prefer words with many neighbors. They give you more choices on the next step.
  • Practise on Easy ladders in Poople Unlimited before tackling the daily Poople game.

How to Play Poople: FAQ

Can I move letters around?

No. Each step changes the letter in one position and leaves the other three where they are. GOOD to DOGO is not allowed; GOOD to GOOP is.

Which words are allowed?

Common four-letter English words in American spelling, about 2,000 of them. Names, abbreviations, very rare words and rude words are not in the list, so the game will tell you if a word is not accepted.

Is there a limit on steps or time?

No. Take as many steps and as long as you like. Fewer steps give a better rating, but any ladder that reaches POOP counts as solved.

Can I use the same word twice?

No. A word can appear only once on your ladder, which stops you going round in circles. Use Undo to step back instead.

What does par mean?

Par is the fewest steps anyone can use to get from the start word to POOP. Match it for a Perfect rating; one or two over is Great, three to five over is Good.

How do streaks work?

Solve the daily puzzle on consecutive days (by UTC date) and your streak grows by one each day. Miss a day and it starts again. Streaks are stored in your browser only.

What if I get stuck?

Open Poople hints for today's puzzle. The hints go from the number of steps to the first word, so you can stop as soon as you have enough.