Historical route lab

Poople #372 CANT Answer

Poople #372 started at CANT on August 21, 2026. Its selective opening changes letters in the sequence N>S, A>O, S>O, T>P, C>P, with 2 par-preserving first moves.

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Archive value: this is not a copied daily page. Its tables are calculated for CANT, including 9 legal openings and route signature 3-2-3-4-1.

Calculated from the current word graph

CANT route profile

Par5 moves6 words including start and target

Shortest routes2Exact routes in the current accepted graph

Legal first moves92 keep par

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

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 C-A-N-T. Change position 3 and keep positions 1, 2, 4 fixed. Look for a consonant-to-consonant change. 2 different first moves preserve the shortest length.

Reveal the complete 5-move answer

CANT -> CAST -> COST -> COOT -> COOP -> POOP

Step 0CANTStart

Step 1CASTBridge

Step 2COSTBridge

Step 3COOTBridge

Step 4COOPBridge

Step 5POOPTarget

Route anatomy

What changes at every step

Step 1CANT -> CAST

Tile 3 changes N to S; the move is sideways by letter shape. CAST has 14 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 4 moves remaining. Other legal exits from CANT include CANS, CART, CANE, WANT.
Step 2CAST -> COST

Tile 2 changes A to O; the move is closer by letter shape. COST has 11 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 3 moves remaining. Other legal exits from CAST include LAST, CYST, CASE, CART.
Step 3COST -> COOT

Tile 3 changes S to O; the move is closer by letter shape. COOT has 17 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 2 moves remaining. Other legal exits from COST include LOST, HOST, COAT, COLT.
Step 4COOT -> COOP

Tile 4 changes T to P; the move is closer by letter shape. COOP has 14 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 1 move remaining. Other legal exits from COOT include COOL, COOK, BOOT, LOOT.
Step 5COOP -> 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?

CANT has 9 legal one-letter neighbors. CAST, CANS keep the route at 5 moves, while sampled detours begin CART (+1), CANE (+1), WANT (+2), CENT (+2).

Compare 8 calculated first moves

Move	Changed tile	Total	Verdict	Shortest continuations
CAST	3: N -> S	5	Keeps par	1
CANS	4: T -> S	5	Keeps par	1
CART	3: N -> R	6	Adds 1 move	3
CANE	4: T -> E	6	Adds 1 move	11
WANT	1: C -> W	7	Adds 2 moves	9
CENT	2: A -> E	7	Adds 2 moves	8
RANT	1: C -> R	7	Adds 2 moves	4
PANT	1: C -> P	7	Adds 2 moves	21

CANT opening fingerprint

CANT groups its legal first moves as tile 1: WANT, RANT, PANT, GANT; tile 2: CENT; tile 3: CAST, CART; tile 4: CANS, CANE. Two moves from the start, 86 off-route words are reachable; the nearest sampled frontier is CONS, CABS, CADS, CAME, CAMS, CANS, CAPS, CARP, CATS, CAWS, CONE, CYST, LAST, BANE, BANS, BAST, BENT, CAFE, CAGE, CAKE, CANE, CAPE, CARB, CARD.

Your route

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Graph reading

COST is the narrowest displayed bridge

After CAST becomes COST, only 1 move preserves the shortest remaining distance. At the prior row, alternatives such as LAST, CYST, CASE, CART 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: 2026-08-15 00:25 UTC Puzzle date: August 21, 2026