POOPLE #185 · 15 Feb 2026

TICS to POOP.

A little help for this word ladder. Open only the hints you need.

6shortest moves

17shortest paths

Moderateour distance-based rating

01A gentle nudgeJust the shortest length. No words revealed.

You can get from TICS to POOP in 6 moves. That means 7 words, including the start.

02A little more directionFind out which letter to change first.

One shortest route starts by changing letter 4. You do not have to match a letter in POOP on every move.

03Your first stepping stoneReveal the first word of a shortest route.

Try TICK. From there, you have 5 moves left.TICK

04The full answerReady? Reveal every step to POOP.

TICS · TICK · HICK · HOCK · HOOK · HOOP · POOP

17 shortest paths in the checked word list. View the full explanation

Every step, explained.

Full solution below. Stop here if you want to keep solving.

All 17 equivalent shortest paths

Legal choices change one letter. Shortest-route choices also reduce the remaining distance by one; the counts below refer to the route shown above.

Word	Legal choices	On a shortest route	Next words on a shortest route
TICS	8	4	TICK, TINS, TIPS, TITS
TICK	13	3	HICK, LICK, TOCK
HICK	12	1	HOCK
HOCK	17	1	HOOK
HOOK	14	1	HOOP
HOOP	9	1	POOP

Historical entry reconstructed from the official schedule available on 10 Nov 2026. Source and verification details.