Puzzle #246 · Apr 17, 2026
Poople #246 Answer: ALES to POOP
Poople #246 was the puzzle for Friday, April 17, 2026. The starting word was ALES, and the shortest ladder to POOP takes 6 steps. We found 4 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 #246 hints
Hint 1: Which letter changes first
The first move changes the 4th letter of ALES, the S.
Hint 2: The next word starts with …
The word after ALES starts with A. Halfway down, the ladder passes through a word that starts with F.
Hint 3: Show me the full ladder
ALES → ALEE → FLEE → FLOE → FLOP → PLOP → POOP
6 steps
Step count computed with our word list (ENABLE + SCOWL); the official game uses its own list.
ALEE and FLOE are in our word list but marked rare, so the official game may not accept them.
| Step | From | To | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ALES | ALEE | 4th letter S to E |
| 2 | ALEE | FLEE | 1st letter A to F |
| 3 | FLEE | FLOE | 3rd letter E to O |
| 4 | FLOE | FLOP | 4th letter E to P |
| 5 | FLOP | PLOP | 1st letter F to P |
| 6 | PLOP | POOP | 2nd letter L to O |
Play this puzzle
All shortest paths from ALES
Our word list allows 4 shortest ladders from ALES to POOP, each 6 steps. They are folded so they don't give the answer away.
Show all 4 paths
- ALES → ALEE → FLEE → FLOE → FLOP → PLOP → POOP
- ALES → ALEE → ALOE → ALOW → PLOW → PLOP → POOP
- ALES → ALEE → ALOE → FLOE → FLOP → PLOP → POOP
- ALES → ALEE → ALOE → SLOE → SLOP → PLOP → POOP
Words one letter away from ALES
These 20 words differ from ALES 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.
- ACES common
- AGES common
- ALAS common
- ALBS rare
- ALEC rare
- ALEE rare
- ALEF rare
- ALLS rare
- ALMS common
- ALPS rare
- ALTS rare
- ANES rare
- APES common
- ARES common
- ATES rare
- AVES rare
- AWES common
- AXES common
- AYES common
- OLES rare
How hard was Poople #246?
By our count it rates Expert: fewest 6 steps. That makes #246 harder than 74% of the 420 puzzles so far.
More Poople puzzles
- Previous: #245 VOID (Apr 16, 2026)
- Next: #247 BURY (Apr 18, 2026)
- Same difficulty: #222 TIER, #226 HAZY, #240 TIDY
- Every puzzle: Poople archive · Today: today's answer · Random practice: Poople Unlimited
How many steps is Poople #246?
Poople #246 takes 6 steps. We count the fewest steps from ALES 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 #246?
The starting word for Poople #246 was ALES, on Friday, April 17, 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 Expert. Hints for it are at the top of this page.
Can I replay Poople #246?
Yes. Press Play this puzzle on this page and the board loads with ALES 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.