The route reaches the final bridge BOOP, then changes letter 1 to reach POOP. Its 8 moves match the dictionary distance calculated from the target.
Compare the first move
ACTS has 4 accepted one-letter neighbors in this vocabulary. 2 can begin a shortest route: ANTS, APTS. Each leaves exactly 7 moves to POOP.
Some longer openings are ACES (9 total moves), ARTS (9 total moves). These counts include the first move from ACTS.
Similarity can be misleading
ACTS → ANTS, ANTS → ANDS, ANDS → AIDS, AIDS → BIDS 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.
