Historical route lab

Poople #378 GELS Answer

Poople #378 started at GELS on August 27, 2026. Its narrow opening changes letters in the sequence S>D, E>O, L>O, D>P, G>P, with 1 par-preserving first moves.

Replay GELS Scores & notes Browse archive

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

Calculated from the current word graph

GELS 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 4-2-3-4-1

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

Reveal the complete 5-move answer

GELS -> GELD -> GOLD -> GOOD -> GOOP -> POOP

Step 0GELSStart

Step 1GELDBridge

Step 2GOLDBridge

Step 3GOODBridge

Step 4GOOPBridge

Step 5POOPTarget

Route anatomy

What changes at every step

Step 1GELS -> GELD

Tile 4 changes S to D; the move is sideways by letter shape. GELD has 7 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 4 moves remaining. Other legal exits from GELS include GETS, GALS, GEES, GEMS.
Step 2GELD -> GOLD

Tile 2 changes E to O; the move is closer by letter shape. GOLD has 12 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 3 moves remaining. Other legal exits from GELD include HELD, GILD, WELD, MELD.
Step 3GOLD -> GOOD

Tile 3 changes L to O; the move is closer by letter shape. GOOD has 10 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 2 moves remaining. Other legal exits from GOLD include GOLF, HOLD, GOAD, TOLD.
Step 4GOOD -> GOOP

Tile 4 changes D to P; the move is closer by letter shape. GOOP has 9 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 1 move remaining. Other legal exits from GOOD include HOOD, GOON, GOOF, FOOD.
Step 5GOOP -> POOP

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

Opening decision

Which first moves preserve par?

GELS has 7 legal one-letter neighbors, but only GELD keeps the route at 5 moves. Nearby detours begin GETS (+1), GALS (+1), GEES (+1), GEMS (+2).

Compare 7 calculated first moves

Move	Changed tile	Total	Verdict	Shortest continuations
GELD	4: S -> D	5	Keeps par	1
GETS	3: L -> T	6	Adds 1 move	1
GALS	2: E -> A	6	Adds 1 move	2
GEES	3: L -> E	6	Adds 1 move	1
GEMS	3: L -> M	7	Adds 2 moves	14
EELS	1: G -> E	7	Adds 2 moves	1
GENS	3: L -> N	7	Adds 2 moves	9

GELS opening fingerprint

GELS groups its legal first moves as tile 1: EELS; tile 2: GALS; tile 3: GETS, GEES, GEMS, GENS; tile 4: GELD. Two moves from the start, 52 off-route words are reachable; the nearest sampled frontier is BETS, GALL, GILD, HELD, PALS, PEES, BEES, DENS, FEES, GABS, GAGS, GALA, GALE, GAMS, GAPS, GAYS, GEEK, GEES, GETS, GOES, GUMS, GUTS, HEMS, HENS.

Your route

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Graph reading

GELD is the narrowest displayed bridge

After GELS becomes GELD, only 1 move preserves the shortest remaining distance. At the prior row, alternatives such as GETS, GALS, GEES, GEMS 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 05:23 UTC Puzzle date: August 27, 2026