How Perfect Path works
Most word ladders forgive a wandering route. Perfect Path doesn't: every step has to bring you one step closer to POOP, so you finish each ladder in exactly the shortest number of moves.
- Type a real word that doesn't get closer and it's a detour: the word is refused and you lose a life.
- Typos and non-words don't cost anything — only real detours do.
- You get 3 lives for the whole run. No hints, no undo.
- Every ladder is fair: its shortest route uses everyday words only.
Think before you type
Count the letters that differ from POOP. If the shortest route is longer than that, a detour letter is unavoidable — find the one swap that opens the way. The solver shows every branch that stays on a shortest route if you want to study how a ladder you lost was meant to go.