Puzzle #404 · Sep 22, 2026
Poople #404 Answer: WHEN to POOP
Poople #404 was the puzzle for Tuesday, September 22, 2026. The starting word was WHEN, 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 #404 hints
Hint 1: Which letter changes first
The first move changes the 2nd letter of WHEN, the H.
Hint 2: The next word starts with …
The word after WHEN starts with W. Halfway down, the ladder passes through a word that starts with P.
Hint 3: Show me the full ladder
WHEN → WEEN → PEEN → PEON → POON → POOP
5 steps
Step count computed with our word list (ENABLE + SCOWL); the official game uses its own list.
WEEN and PEEN and POON are in our word list but marked rare, so the official game may not accept them.
| Step | From | To | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WHEN | WEEN | 2nd letter H to E |
| 2 | WEEN | PEEN | 1st letter W to P |
| 3 | PEEN | PEON | 3rd letter E to O |
| 4 | PEON | POON | 2nd letter E to O |
| 5 | POON | POOP | 4th letter N to P |
Play this puzzle
Words one letter away from WHEN
These 8 words differ from WHEN 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.
- THEN common
- WEEN rare
- WHEE rare
- WHET common
- WHEW common
- WHEY rare
- WHIN rare
- WREN common
How hard was Poople #404?
By our count it rates Hard: fewest 5 steps. That makes #404 harder than 13% of the 420 puzzles so far.
More Poople puzzles
- Previous: #403 PETS (Sep 21, 2026)
- Next: #405 YANK (Sep 23, 2026)
- Same difficulty: #398 WHAT, #400 CARE, #401 FANS
- Every puzzle: Poople archive · Today: today's answer · Random practice: Poople Unlimited
How many steps is Poople #404?
Poople #404 takes 5 steps. We count the fewest steps from WHEN 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 #404?
The starting word for Poople #404 was WHEN, on Tuesday, September 22, 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 #404?
Yes. Press Play this puzzle on this page and the board loads with WHEN 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.