Puzzle #163 · Jan 24, 2026
Poople #163 Answer: PINK to POOP
Poople #163 was the puzzle for Saturday, January 24, 2026. The starting word was PINK, and the shortest ladder to POOP takes 5 steps. We found 7 different shortest paths with our word list. Open the hints below one at a time if you want a nudge, or reveal the full ladder at the end.
Poople #163 hints
Hint 1: Which letter changes first
The first move changes the 4th letter of PINK, the K.
Hint 2: The next word starts with …
The word after PINK starts with P. Halfway down, the ladder passes through a word that starts with P.
Hint 3: Show me the full ladder
PINK → PINE → PONE → POND → POOD → POOP
5 steps
Step count computed with our word list (ENABLE + SCOWL); the official game uses its own list.
PONE and POOD are in our word list but marked rare, so the official game may not accept them.
| Step | From | To | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PINK | PINE | 4th letter K to E |
| 2 | PINE | PONE | 2nd letter I to O |
| 3 | PONE | POND | 4th letter E to D |
| 4 | POND | POOD | 3rd letter N to O |
| 5 | POOD | POOP | 4th letter D to P |
Play this puzzle
All shortest paths from PINK
Our word list allows 7 shortest ladders from PINK to POOP, each 5 steps. They are folded so they don't give the answer away.
Show all 7 paths
- PINK → PINE → PONE → POND → POOD → POOP
- PINK → PINE → PONE → POME → POMP → POOP
- PINK → PINS → PONS → POND → POOD → POOP
- PINK → PINS → PONS → POMS → POMP → POOP
- PINK → PINY → PONY → POND → POOD → POOP
- PINK → PINA → PIMA → PIMP → POMP → POOP
- PINK → PING → PONG → POND → POOD → POOP
Words one letter away from PINK
These 19 words differ from PINK in one letter. Common words are in SCOWL size 35; rare words are only in the ENABLE list, and the official game is more likely to reject them.
- DINK rare
- FINK rare
- GINK rare
- JINK rare
- KINK common
- LINK common
- MINK common
- OINK rare
- PICK common
- PINA rare
- PINE common
- PING rare
- PINS common
- PINT common
- PINY rare
- PUNK common
- RINK common
- SINK common
- WINK common
How hard was Poople #163?
By our count it rates Hard: fewest 5 steps. That makes #163 harder than 13% of the 420 puzzles so far.
More Poople puzzles
- Previous: #162 RIGS (Jan 23, 2026)
- Next: #164 CITE (Jan 25, 2026)
- Same difficulty: #157 ROTE, #159 HAVE, #162 RIGS
- Every puzzle: Poople archive · Today: today's answer · Random practice: Poople Unlimited
How many steps is Poople #163?
Poople #163 takes 5 steps. We count the fewest steps from PINK to POOP with a breadth-first search over our four-letter word list (ENABLE + SCOWL), and the official game uses its own word list, so its count can differ from ours.
What was the starting word for Poople #163?
The starting word for Poople #163 was PINK, on Saturday, January 24, 2026. Every Poople puzzle ends at POOP, so the start word is the only thing that changes from day to day. With our word list this one rates Hard. Hints for it are at the top of this page.
Can I replay Poople #163?
Yes. Press Play this puzzle on this page and the board loads with PINK as the start word, with Undo, Restart and three levels of hints. You can also play unlimited random puzzles on the home page, or pick any other past puzzle from the archive.