Poople Unlimited

Poople #388 Answer & Full Solution:
ITCH to POOP Word Ladder

Play this puzzle

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

 

Unlimited

Full solution

The fastest route from ITCH to POOP takes 10 moves.

  • ITCH→
  • ETCH→
  • EACH→
  • MACH→
  • MUCH→
  • MUCK→
  • BUCK→
  • BOCK→
  • BOOK→
  • BOOP→
  • POOP

About this puzzle

Puzzle number388
Date2026-09-06
Par10
Neighbor words from ITCH2
Shortest path is uniqueNo
Harder than yesterday's puzzleYes

Bridge words

WordMeaning
ITCH(noun) — a tingling urge to scratch
ETCH(verb) — to cut a design into metal or glass
EACH(determiner) — every one of two or more
MACH(noun) — a unit of speed relative to sound, as in Mach 2
MUCH(determiner) — a large amount
MUCK(noun) — soft dirt or manure
BUCK(noun) — a male deer; a dollar (informal)
BOCK(noun) — a type of strong dark beer
BOOK(noun) — a written or printed work bound together
BOOP(noun) — a light tap on the nose; a cartoon sound
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: ITCH → ETCHLetter 1 changes from I to E
  2. Step 2: ETCH → EACHLetter 2 changes from T to A
  3. Step 3: EACH → MACHLetter 1 changes from E to M
  4. Step 4: MACH → MUCHLetter 2 changes from A to U
  5. Step 5: MUCH → MUCKLetter 4 changes from H to K
  6. Step 6: MUCK → BUCKLetter 1 changes from M to B
  7. Step 7: BUCK → BOCKLetter 2 changes from U to O
  8. Step 8: BOCK → BOOKLetter 3 changes from C to O
  9. Step 9: BOOK → BOOPLetter 4 changes from K to P
  10. Step 10: BOOP → POOPLetter 1 changes from B to P

Strategy for solving this puzzle

The fastest path is 10 moves. There are 0 legal first moves that stay on the shortest route. If you do not see those moves immediately, the neighbouring first step that adds only one extra move is: INCH. 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 ITCH.

Word finder & reference words

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

Word groupWords
1-letter mutations of ITCHETCH, INCH
4-letter words ending in CHARCH, EACH, ETCH, INCH, LICH, LOCH, MACH, MECH, MUCH, OUCH, RICH, SUCH, TECH

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 #388?

The shortest path from ITCH to POOP takes 10 steps:ITCH → ETCH → EACH → MACH → MUCH → MUCK → BUCK → BOCK → BOOK → BOOP → POOP. See the full ladder above for every intermediate word.

Is the shortest path unique for #388?

No. There are 64 shortest routes that all tie at 10 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 #388?

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

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 pathNone
One step longerINCH
Two or more steps longerNone