Poople Unlimited

Poople #256 Answer & Full Solution:
RINK to POOP Word Ladder

Play this puzzle

The board opens on RINK. Stuck? The Hint button suggests the next rung.

 

All answersToday’s puzzle

Full solution

The fastest route from RINK to POOP takes 6 moves.

  • RINK→
  • LINK→
  • LICK→
  • LOCK→
  • LOOK→
  • LOOP→
  • POOP

About this puzzle

Puzzle number256
Date2026-04-27
Par6
Neighbor words from RINK14
Shortest path is uniqueNo
Harder than yesterday's puzzleYes

Bridge words

WordMeaning
RINK(noun) — a surface for skating or hockey
LINK(noun) — a ring or connection joining things
LICK(verb) — to pass the tongue over; a small amount
LOCK(noun) — a device for fastening by a key
LOOK(verb) — direct the eyes toward
LOOP(noun) — a shape produced by a curve crossing itself
POOP(noun) — the waste discharged from the bowels

Letter-by-letter path explanation

Each rung below changes exactly one letter from the rung above it. Read top-to-bottom — by the last rung you have reached POOP.

  1. Step 1: RINK → LINKLetter 1 changes from R to L
  2. Step 2: LINK → LICKLetter 3 changes from N to C
  3. Step 3: LICK → LOCKLetter 2 changes from I to O
  4. Step 4: LOCK → LOOKLetter 3 changes from C to O
  5. Step 5: LOOK → LOOPLetter 4 changes from K to P
  6. Step 6: LOOP → POOPLetter 1 changes from L to P

Strategy for solving this puzzle

The fastest path is 6 moves. The legal first moves that stay on the shortest route are: DINK, FINK, KINK, OINK, PINK, RIND, RISK, SINK, WINK. If you do not see those moves immediately, the neighbouring first step that adds only one extra move is: RING. Most players find the par through one of those rather than the strict shortest-path branch. This board is harder than yesterday's puzzle — expect to spend a few more minutes if you are not familiar with words around RINK.

Word finder & reference words

Use this block to scout the ladder by hand: the neighbours show what one-letter moves are legal from RINK, and the same-suffix list shows the wider family of words that share the ending.

Word groupWords
1-letter mutations of RINKDINK, FINK, KINK, LINK, MINK, OINK, PINK, RANK, RIND, RING, RISK, SINK, TINK, WINK
4-letter words ending in NKBANK, BONK, BUNK, CONK, DANK, DINK, DUNK, FINK, FUNK, GUNK, HANK, HONK, HUNK, JUNK, KINK, LANK, LINK, MINK, MONK, OINK, PINK, PUNK, RANK, SANK, SINK, SUNK, TANK, TINK, TONK, WANK, WINK, YANK, ZONK

FAQ

What is the Poople game?

Poople is a daily word ladder puzzle: start from a four-letter word, change one letter at a time, and reach POOP in as few steps as possible. A new puzzle drops every day at 08:00 UTC.

What is the answer to Poople #256?

The shortest path from RINK to POOP takes 6 steps:RINK → LINK → LICK → LOCK → LOOK → LOOP → POOP. See the full ladder above for every intermediate word.

Is the shortest path unique for #256?

No. There are 19 shortest routes that all tie at 6 steps — the ladder above is one optimal line, but other bridge words reach POOP just as fast.

What is the key late-game move in #256?

The turning point is reaching LOOP — once you reach LOOP, the remaining 1 steps to POOP follow naturally through common words like LOOP.

How do I get better at Poople?

Practice with our free unlimited mode to build pattern recognition. Vowel swaps, consonant clusters, and bridge words like BOOK and COOK repeat across many puzzles. Stuck on a different pair? Use the Poople solver to see the shortest ladder between any two words, or jump to today's daily puzzle.

What do the difficulty labels mean?

Easy (1–5 steps), Medium (6–9 steps), Hard (10+ steps). Difficulty depends on the starting word's letters — rare letters like J, X, Q, Z make paths longer because fewer one-letter neighbours exist.

First moves

Distance from parLegal first moves
On the shortest pathDINK, FINK, KINK, OINK, PINK, RIND, RISK, SINK, WINK
One step longerRING
Two or more steps longerNone