The route reaches the final bridge PLOP, then changes letter 2 to reach POOP. Its 6 moves match the dictionary distance calculated from the target.
Compare the first move
TEAK has 9 accepted one-letter neighbors in this vocabulary. 7 can begin a shortest route: BEAK, LEAK, PEAK, TEAL, TEAM, TEAR, TEAT. Each leaves exactly 5 moves to POOP.
Some longer openings are TEAS (7 total moves), WEAK (7 total moves). These counts include the first move from TEAK.
Similarity can be misleading
PEAK → PEAT, PEAT → PLAT 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.
