STARTING-WORD GUIDE

BLIP to POOP.

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

4minimum moves
4shortest routes
Easydistance-based rating

A shortest path from BLIP.

BLIP reaches POOP in 4 moves. The list includes 5 words because the starting position costs no move.

  1. StartBLIPThe starting word; no move used
  2. Move 1CLIPReplace B with C in position 1
  3. Move 2CLOPReplace I with O in position 3
  4. Move 3COOPReplace L with O in position 2
  5. Move 4POOPReplace C with P in position 1
Compare 4 shortest routes
  1. BLIP · CLIP · CLOP · COOP · POOP
  2. BLIP · CLIP · CLOP · PLOP · POOP
  3. BLIP · FLIP · FLOP · PLOP · POOP
  4. BLIP · SLIP · SLOP · PLOP · POOP

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

Which first moves work?

3 next words keep you on a shortest route from BLIP: CLIP, FLIP, SLIP.

The table lists all 4 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 4-move minimum.

Next wordMoves remainingTotal via this wordResult
BLIN56Longer route
CLIP34Shortest route
FLIP34Shortest route
SLIP34Shortest route

Why 4 moves is the minimum.

BLIP differs from POOP in 3 letter positions, so any route needs at least 3 changes. The accepted intermediate words require a longer route: the first complete connection in our search occurs at 4 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 BLIP with a different target or read the verification method.

More 4-move ladders.

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