Historical route lab

Poople #369 PERT Answer

Poople #369 started at PERT on August 18, 2026. Its selective opening changes letters in the sequence E>O, R>U, T>R, U>O, R>P, with 3 par-preserving first moves.

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Archive value: this is not a copied daily page. Its tables are calculated for PERT, including 10 legal openings and route signature 2-3-4-3-4.

Calculated from the current word graph

PERT route profile

Par5 moves6 words including start and target

Shortest routes5Exact routes in the current accepted graph

Legal first moves103 keep par

Route shapeselective openingLetter positions 2-3-4-3-4

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 P-E-R-T. Change position 2 and keep positions 1, 3, 4 fixed. Look for a vowel-to-vowel change. 3 different first moves preserve the shortest length.

Reveal the complete 5-move answer

PERT -> PORT -> POUT -> POUR -> POOR -> POOP

Step 0PERTStart

Step 1PORTBridge

Step 2POUTBridge

Step 3POURBridge

Step 4POORBridge

Step 5POOPTarget

Route anatomy

What changes at every step

Step 1PERT -> PORT

Tile 2 changes E to O; the move is closer by letter shape. PORT has 12 legal neighbors, 2 shortest continuations, and 4 moves remaining. Other legal exits from PERT include PEAT, PERP, PART, PEST.
Step 2PORT -> POUT

Tile 3 changes R to U; the move is sideways by letter shape. POUT has 9 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 3 moves remaining. Other legal exits from PORT include PORE, POST, PORN, SORT.
Step 3POUT -> POUR

Tile 4 changes T to R; the move is sideways by letter shape. POUR has 9 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 2 moves remaining. Other legal exits from POUT include BOUT, LOUT, POST, POET.
Step 4POUR -> POOR

Tile 3 changes U to O; the move is closer by letter shape. POOR has 7 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 1 move remaining. Other legal exits from POUR include YOUR, FOUR, TOUR, HOUR.
Step 5POOR -> POOP

Tile 4 changes R to P; the move is closer by letter shape. POOP has 11 legal neighbors, target reached, and 0 moves remaining. Other legal exits from POOR include POOL, POOF, DOOR, MOOR.

Opening decision

Which first moves preserve par?

PERT has 10 legal one-letter neighbors. PORT, PEAT, PERP keep the route at 5 moves, while sampled detours begin PART (+1), PEST (+1), PERM (+1), PERK (+1).

Compare 8 calculated first moves

Move	Changed tile	Total	Verdict	Shortest continuations
PORT	2: E -> O	5	Keeps par	2
PEAT	3: R -> A	5	Keeps par	2
PERP	4: T -> P	5	Keeps par	1
PART	2: E -> A	6	Adds 1 move	3
PEST	3: R -> S	6	Adds 1 move	9
PERM	4: T -> M	6	Adds 1 move	1
PERK	4: T -> K	6	Adds 1 move	4
PENT	3: R -> N	6	Adds 1 move	2

PERT opening fingerprint

PERT groups its legal first moves as tile 1: VERT; tile 2: PORT, PART; tile 3: PEAT, PEST, PENT, PELT; tile 4: PERP, PERM, PERK. Two moves from the start, 87 off-route words are reachable; the nearest sampled frontier is PEEP, PLAT, PORE, BEAT, BELT, FORT, HEST, LEST, PARE, PEAT, PEEK, PERP, PHAT, POET, PORK, PORN, POST, PRAT, SORT, TORT, BENT, BEST, CART, DELT.

Your route

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Graph reading

POOR is the narrowest displayed bridge

After POUR becomes POOR, only 1 move preserves the shortest remaining distance. At the prior row, alternatives such as YOUR, FOUR, TOUR, HOUR show what the route declined.

Direct-shape gains: 3
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 22:00 UTC Puzzle date: August 18, 2026