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
NEXT has 4 accepted one-letter neighbors in this vocabulary. 2 can begin a shortest route: NEAT, NEST. Each leaves exactly 5 moves to POOP.
Some longer openings are NEWT (7 total moves), TEXT (7 total moves). These counts include the first move from NEXT.
Similarity can be misleading
NEXT → NEAT, 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.
