STARTING-WORD GUIDE

BOON to POOP.

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

2minimum moves
1shortest route
Easydistance-based rating

A shortest path from BOON.

BOON reaches POOP in 2 moves. The list includes 3 words because the starting position costs no move.

  1. StartBOONThe starting word; no move used
  2. Move 1BOOPReplace N with P in position 4
  3. Move 2POOPReplace B with P in position 1

There is exactly one shortest route in this checked word list.

Which first moves work?

One next word keeps you on a shortest route from BOON: BOOP.

The table lists all 14 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 2-move minimum.

Next wordMoves remainingTotal via this wordResult
BOOB23Longer route
BOOK23Longer route
BOOM23Longer route
BOOP12Shortest route
BOOR23Longer route
BOOS23Longer route
BOOT23Longer route
BORN34Longer route
GOON23Longer route
LOON23Longer route
MOON34Longer route
NOON34Longer route
SOON34Longer route
TOON34Longer route

Why 2 moves is the minimum.

BOON differs from POOP in 2 letter positions, so any route needs at least 2 changes. This route meets that lower bound.

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 BOON with a different target or read the verification method.

More 2-move ladders.

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