Puzzle #165 · Jan 26, 2026
Poople #165 Answer: PING to POOP
Poople #165 was the puzzle for Monday, January 26, 2026. The starting word was PING, and the shortest ladder to POOP takes 4 steps. We found 1 shortest path 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 #165 hints
Hint 1: Which letter changes first
The first move changes the 2nd letter of PING, the I.
Hint 2: The next word starts with …
The word after PING starts with P. Halfway down, the ladder passes through a word that starts with P.
Hint 3: Show me the full ladder
PING → PONG → POND → POOD → POOP
4 steps
Step count computed with our word list (ENABLE + SCOWL); the official game uses its own list.
PONG and POOD are in our word list but marked rare, so the official game may not accept them.
| Step | From | To | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PING | PONG | 2nd letter I to O |
| 2 | PONG | POND | 4th letter G to D |
| 3 | POND | POOD | 3rd letter N to O |
| 4 | POOD | POOP | 4th letter D to P |
Play this puzzle
Words one letter away from PING
These 17 words differ from PING 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.
- DING rare
- KING common
- LING rare
- PANG common
- PINA rare
- PINE common
- PINK common
- PINS common
- PINT common
- PINY rare
- PONG rare
- PUNG rare
- RING common
- SING common
- TING rare
- WING common
- ZING rare
How hard was Poople #165?
By our count it rates Medium: fewest 4 steps. That makes #165 harder than 1% of the 420 puzzles so far.
More Poople puzzles
- Previous: #164 CITE (Jan 25, 2026)
- Next: #166 ATOM (Jan 27, 2026)
- Same difficulty: #138 HASH, #158 JAMS, #160 ROSY
- Every puzzle: Poople archive · Today: today's answer · Random practice: Poople Unlimited
How many steps is Poople #165?
Poople #165 takes 4 steps. We count the fewest steps from PING 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 #165?
The starting word for Poople #165 was PING, on Monday, January 26, 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 Medium. Hints for it are at the top of this page.
Can I replay Poople #165?
Yes. Press Play this puzzle on this page and the board loads with PING 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.