The route reaches the final bridge POOL, then changes letter 4 to reach POOP. Its 5 moves match the dictionary distance calculated from the target.
Compare the first move
HALO has 4 accepted one-letter neighbors in this vocabulary. 2 can begin a shortest route: HALL, HALT. Each leaves exactly 4 moves to POOP.
Some longer openings are HALE (6 total moves), HALF (6 total moves). These counts include the first move from HALO.
Similarity can be misleading
HALO → HALL does not reduce the number of letters that differ from POOP, but still belongs to a minimum-move route. Reachable word connections matter more than matching letters immediately.
If a word is rejected
Enter the last accepted word in the solver, exclude the rejected word, and recalculate. A shorter dictionary can require more moves. Read the strategy guide for a worked detour example.
