Puzzle #170 · Jan 31, 2026
Poople #170 Answer: SAVE to POOP
Poople #170 was the puzzle for Saturday, January 31, 2026. The starting word was SAVE, and the shortest ladder to POOP takes 5 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 #170 hints
Hint 1: Which letter changes first
The first move changes the 3rd letter of SAVE, the V.
Hint 2: The next word starts with …
The word after SAVE starts with S. Halfway down, the ladder passes through a word that starts with P.
Hint 3: Show me the full ladder
SAVE → SAME → SOME → POME → POMP → POOP
5 steps
Step count computed with our word list (ENABLE + SCOWL); the official game uses its own list.
POME is in our word list but marked rare, so the official game may not accept it.
| Step | From | To | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SAVE | SAME | 3rd letter V to M |
| 2 | SAME | SOME | 2nd letter A to O |
| 3 | SOME | POME | 1st letter S to P |
| 4 | POME | POMP | 4th letter E to P |
| 5 | POMP | POOP | 3rd letter M to O |
Play this puzzle
Words one letter away from SAVE
These 19 words differ from SAVE 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.
- CAVE common
- EAVE rare
- FAVE rare
- GAVE common
- HAVE common
- LAVE rare
- NAVE rare
- PAVE common
- RAVE common
- SABE rare
- SADE rare
- SAFE common
- SAGE common
- SAKE common
- SALE common
- SAME common
- SANE common
- SATE rare
- WAVE common
How hard was Poople #170?
By our count it rates Hard: fewest 5 steps. That makes #170 harder than 13% of the 420 puzzles so far.
More Poople puzzles
- Previous: #169 QUAD (Jan 30, 2026)
- Next: #171 WAIT (Feb 1, 2026)
- Same difficulty: #164 CITE, #166 ATOM, #167 PINT
- Every puzzle: Poople archive · Today: today's answer · Random practice: Poople Unlimited
How many steps is Poople #170?
Poople #170 takes 5 steps. We count the fewest steps from SAVE 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 #170?
The starting word for Poople #170 was SAVE, on Saturday, January 31, 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 #170?
Yes. Press Play this puzzle on this page and the board loads with SAVE 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.