Historical route lab

Poople #359 LAVA Answer

Poople #359 started at LAVA on August 8, 2026. Its narrow opening changes letters in the sequence V>M, A>P, L>C, A>O, M>O, C>P, with 1 par-preserving first moves.

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Archive value: this is not a copied daily page. Its tables are calculated for LAVA, including 6 legal openings and route signature 3-4-1-2-3-1.
Calculated from the current word graph

LAVA route profile

Par6 moves7 words including start and target
Shortest routes8Exact routes in the current accepted graph
Legal first moves61 keep par
Route shapenarrow openingLetter positions 3-4-1-2-3-1
Spoiler controls

Choose how much to reveal

The hint describes the move without naming the word. The full route stays closed until you ask for it.

Reveal a direction, not a word

The current row reads L-A-V-A. Change position 3 and keep positions 1, 2, 4 fixed. Look for a consonant-to-consonant change. Only one first move preserves the shortest length.

Reveal the complete 6-move answer

LAVA -> LAMA -> LAMP -> CAMP -> COMP -> COOP -> POOP

Step 0LAVAStart
Step 1LAMABridge
Step 2LAMPBridge
Step 3CAMPBridge
Step 4COMPBridge
Step 5COOPBridge
Step 6POOPTarget
Route anatomy

What changes at every step

  1. Step 1LAVA -> LAMA

    Tile 3 changes V to M; the move is sideways by letter shape. LAMA has 7 legal neighbors, 3 shortest continuations, and 5 moves remaining. Other legal exits from LAVA include LAVE, JAVA, KAVA, LEVA.

  2. Step 2LAMA -> LAMP

    Tile 4 changes A to P; the move is closer by letter shape. LAMP has 10 legal neighbors, 4 shortest continuations, and 4 moves remaining. Other legal exits from LAMA include LIMA, LUMA, LAMB, LAME.

  3. Step 3LAMP -> CAMP

    Tile 1 changes L to C; the move is sideways by letter shape. CAMP has 11 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 3 moves remaining. Other legal exits from LAMP include RAMP, LUMP, LIMP, DAMP.

  4. Step 4CAMP -> COMP

    Tile 2 changes A to O; the move is closer by letter shape. COMP has 8 legal neighbors, 2 shortest continuations, and 2 moves remaining. Other legal exits from CAMP include RAMP, CAME, CAMS, CARP.

  5. Step 5COMP -> COOP

    Tile 3 changes M to O; the move is closer by letter shape. COOP has 14 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 1 move remaining. Other legal exits from COMP include POMP, COUP, ROMP, COME.

  6. Step 6COOP -> POOP

    Tile 1 changes C to P; the move is closer by letter shape. POOP has 11 legal neighbors, target reached, and 0 moves remaining. Other legal exits from COOP include LOOP, HOOP, BOOP, GOOP.

Opening decision

Which first moves preserve par?

LAVA has 6 legal one-letter neighbors, but only LAMA keeps the route at 6 moves. Nearby detours begin LAVE (+1), JAVA (+2), KAVA (+2), LEVA (+2).

Compare 6 calculated first moves
MoveChanged tileTotalVerdictShortest continuations
LAMA3: V -> M6Keeps par8
LAVE4: A -> E7Adds 1 move37
JAVA1: L -> J8Adds 2 moves8
KAVA1: L -> K8Adds 2 moves8
LEVA2: A -> E8Adds 2 moves8
FAVA1: L -> F8Adds 2 moves31

LAVA opening fingerprint

LAVA groups its legal first moves as tile 1: JAVA, KAVA, FAVA; tile 2: LEVA; tile 3: LAMA; tile 4: LAVE. Two moves from the start, 29 off-route words are reachable; the nearest sampled frontier is LIMA, LUMA, CAVE, LACE, LAMB, LAME, LIVE, LOVE, PAVE, SAVE, EAVE, FAVE, GAVE, HAVE, LAKE, LANE, LATE, LAZE, MAMA, NAVE, RAVE, WAVE, FAVA, JAVA.

Your route

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Graph reading

CAMP is the narrowest displayed bridge

After LAMP becomes CAMP, only 1 move preserves the shortest remaining distance. At the prior row, alternatives such as RAMP, LUMP, LIMP, DAMP show what the route declined.

Direct-shape gains
4
Sideways steps
2
Temporary shape detours
0
Steps touching a vowel
3

How these figures were calculated

Poople recomputes adjacency and distance from the accepted 2,398-word graph. "Shortest routes" counts every path that lowers the remaining distance by one at each move; it is not a guess based on page text or player scores.

The displayed answer is one shortest route selected from that graph. Community scores and notes are kept separate because they describe player activity, not the mathematical route.

Data mode: live Graph synced: 2026-08-14 18:41 UTC Puzzle date: August 8, 2026