The route reaches the final bridge LOOP, then changes letter 1 to reach POOP. Its 9 moves match the dictionary distance calculated from the target.
Compare the first move
ETCH has 2 accepted one-letter neighbors in this vocabulary. 1 can begin a shortest route: EACH. Each leaves exactly 8 moves to POOP.
Some longer openings are ITCH (11 total moves). These counts include the first move from ETCH.
Similarity can be misleading
ETCH → EACH, EACH → MACH, MACH → MUCH, MUCH → MUCK, MOCK → LOCK do not reduce the number of letters that differ from POOP, but still belong 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.
