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Word ladder solver / BLAM
STARTING-WORD GUIDE

BLAM to POOP.

A reusable word-ladder guide, rather than a dated daily puzzle. Every move below changes exactly one letter.

5minimum moves
13shortest routes
Easydistance-based rating

A shortest path from BLAM.

BLAM reaches POOP in 5 moves. The list includes 6 words because the starting position costs no move.

  1. StartBLAMThe starting word; no move used
  2. Move 1BLABReplace M with B in position 4
  3. Move 2BLOBReplace A with O in position 3
  4. Move 3BOOBReplace L with O in position 2
  5. Move 4BOOPReplace B with P in position 4
  6. Move 5POOPReplace B with P in position 1
Compare 13 shortest routes
  1. BLAM · BLAB · BLOB · BOOB · BOOP · POOP
  2. BLAM · BLAT · BLOT · BOOT · BOOP · POOP
  3. BLAM · BLAT · BLOT · PLOT · PLOP · POOP
  4. BLAM · BLAT · BOAT · BOOT · BOOP · POOP
  5. BLAM · BLAT · PLAT · PLAP · PLOP · POOP
  6. BLAM · BLAT · PLAT · PLOT · PLOP · POOP
  7. BLAM · CLAM · CLAP · CLOP · COOP · POOP
  8. BLAM · CLAM · CLAP · CLOP · PLOP · POOP
  9. BLAM · CLAM · CLAP · PLAP · PLOP · POOP
  10. BLAM · GLAM · GLOM · GLOP · GOOP · POOP
  11. BLAM · GLAM · GLOM · GLOP · PLOP · POOP
  12. BLAM · SLAM · SLAP · PLAP · PLOP · POOP
  13. BLAM · SLAM · SLAP · SLOP · PLOP · POOP

This list contains every shortest route in the checked word list.

Which first moves work?

5 next words keep you on a shortest route from BLAM: BLAB, BLAT, CLAM, GLAM, SLAM.

The table lists all 7 accepted one-letter neighbors. “Moves remaining” starts after that first move. “Total via this word” includes it, so you can compare that choice with the 5-move minimum.

Next wordMoves remainingTotal via this wordResult
BEAM56Longer route
BLAB45Shortest route
BLAH56Longer route
BLAT45Shortest route
CLAM45Shortest route
GLAM45Shortest route
SLAM45Shortest route

Why 5 moves is the minimum.

BLAM differs from POOP in 4 letter positions, so any route needs at least 4 changes. The accepted intermediate words require a longer route: the first complete connection in our search occurs at 5 moves.

The solver searches the checked word graph in distance order. It reaches every word one move away before trying two moves, then continues until it reaches POOP. The minimum applies to this word list; another game or dictionary may accept different connections.

Our Easy label uses distance only: up to 5 moves is Easy, 6 is Moderate, 7 is Tricky, 8 is Hard, and 9 or more is Expert. It does not measure how familiar you will find each word.

Try BLAM with a different target or read the verification method.

More 5-move ladders.

These starting words have the same shortest distance to POOP in the checked list.