Historical route lab

Poople #362 SWIM Answer

Poople #362 started at SWIM on August 11, 2026. Its narrow opening changes letters in the sequence W>L, M>P, I>O, S>P, L>O, with 1 par-preserving first moves.

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Archive value: this is not a copied daily page. Its tables are calculated for SWIM, including 7 legal openings and route signature 2-4-3-1-2.

Calculated from the current word graph

SWIM route profile

Par5 moves6 words including start and target

Shortest routes1Exact routes in the current accepted graph

Legal first moves71 keep par

Route shapenarrow openingLetter positions 2-4-3-1-2

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 S-W-I-M. Change position 2 and keep positions 1, 3, 4 fixed. Look for a consonant-to-consonant change. Only one first move preserves the shortest length.

Reveal the complete 5-move answer

SWIM -> SLIM -> SLIP -> SLOP -> PLOP -> POOP

Step 0SWIMStart

Step 1SLIMBridge

Step 2SLIPBridge

Step 3SLOPBridge

Step 4PLOPBridge

Step 5POOPTarget

Route anatomy

What changes at every step

Step 1SWIM -> SLIM

Tile 2 changes W to L; the move is sideways by letter shape. SLIM has 9 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 4 moves remaining. Other legal exits from SWIM include SKIM, SWAM, SHIM, STIM.
Step 2SLIM -> SLIP

Tile 4 changes M to P; the move is closer by letter shape. SLIP has 11 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 3 moves remaining. Other legal exits from SLIM include SLAM, SLIT, SLID, SKIM.
Step 3SLIP -> SLOP

Tile 3 changes I to O; the move is closer by letter shape. SLOP has 13 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 2 moves remaining. Other legal exits from SLIP include CLIP, FLIP, SLAP, SHIP.
Step 4SLOP -> PLOP

Tile 1 changes S to P; the move is closer by letter shape. PLOP has 11 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 1 move remaining. Other legal exits from SLOP include FLOP, CLOP, GLOP, SHOP.
Step 5PLOP -> POOP

Tile 2 changes L to O; the move is closer by letter shape. POOP has 11 legal neighbors, target reached, and 0 moves remaining. Other legal exits from PLOP include PROP, PLOT, FLOP, PLOW.

Opening decision

Which first moves preserve par?

SWIM has 7 legal one-letter neighbors, but only SLIM keeps the route at 5 moves. Nearby detours begin SKIM (+1), SWAM (+1), SHIM (+1), STIM (+1).

Compare 7 calculated first moves

Move	Changed tile	Total	Verdict	Shortest continuations
SLIM	2: W -> L	5	Keeps par	1
SKIM	2: W -> K	6	Adds 1 move	2
SWAM	3: I -> A	6	Adds 1 move	4
SHIM	2: W -> H	6	Adds 1 move	5
STIM	2: W -> T	6	Adds 1 move	1
SWIG	4: M -> G	7	Adds 2 moves	6
SWUM	3: I -> U	7	Adds 2 moves	12

SWIM opening fingerprint

SWIM groups its legal first moves as tile 2: SLIM, SKIM, SHIM, STIM; tile 3: SWAM, SWUM; tile 4: SWIG. Two moves from the start, 33 off-route words are reachable; the nearest sampled frontier is SHIP, SKIP, SLAM, SLID, SLIT, SWAP, SCAM, SEAM, SHAM, SHIM, SHIN, SHIT, SHIV, SKID, SKIM, SKIN, SKIS, SKIT, SLUM, SPAM, STEM, STIM, SWAB, SWAG.

Your route

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Graph reading

SLIM is the narrowest displayed bridge

After SWIM becomes SLIM, only 1 move preserves the shortest remaining distance. At the prior row, alternatives such as SKIM, SWAM, SHIM, STIM show what the route declined.

Direct-shape gains: 4
Sideways steps: 1
Temporary shape detours: 0
Steps touching a vowel: 2

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 18:35 UTC Puzzle date: August 11, 2026