Historical route lab

Poople #385 PERM Answer

Poople #385 started at PERM on September 3, 2026. Its narrow opening changes letters in the sequence M>P, R>E, E>R, E>O, R>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 PERM, including 6 legal openings and route signature 4-3-2-3-2.

Calculated from the current word graph

PERM route profile

Par5 moves6 words including start and target

Shortest routes1Exact routes in the current accepted graph

Legal first moves61 keep par

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

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 P-E-R-M. 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

PERM -> PERP -> PEEP -> PREP -> PROP -> POOP

Step 0PERMStart

Step 1PERPBridge

Step 2PEEPBridge

Step 3PREPBridge

Step 4PROPBridge

Step 5POOPTarget

Route anatomy

What changes at every step

Step 1PERM -> PERP

Tile 4 changes M to P; the move is closer by letter shape. PERP has 5 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 4 moves remaining. Other legal exits from PERM include PERT, PERK, TERM, GERM.
Step 2PERP -> PEEP

Tile 3 changes R to E; the move is sideways by letter shape. PEEP has 13 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 3 moves remaining. Other legal exits from PERP include PERT, PERK, PARP.
Step 3PEEP -> PREP

Tile 2 changes E to R; the move is sideways by letter shape. PREP has 4 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 2 moves remaining. Other legal exits from PEEP include KEEP, DEEP, PEER, PEEL.
Step 4PREP -> PROP

Tile 3 changes E to O; the move is closer by letter shape. PROP has 11 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 1 move remaining. Other legal exits from PREP include PREY, PREZ.
Step 5PROP -> POOP

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

Opening decision

Which first moves preserve par?

PERM has 6 legal one-letter neighbors, but only PERP keeps the route at 5 moves. Nearby detours begin PERT (+1), PERK (+1), TERM (+2), GERM (+2).

Compare 6 calculated first moves

Move	Changed tile	Total	Verdict	Shortest continuations
PERP	4: M -> P	5	Keeps par	1
PERT	4: M -> T	6	Adds 1 move	5
PERK	4: M -> K	6	Adds 1 move	4
TERM	1: P -> T	7	Adds 2 moves	8
GERM	1: P -> G	7	Adds 2 moves	1
BERM	1: P -> B	7	Adds 2 moves	5

PERM opening fingerprint

PERM groups its legal first moves as tile 1: TERM, GERM, BERM; tile 4: PERP, PERT, PERK. Two moves from the start, 24 off-route words are reachable; the nearest sampled frontier is PEAT, PEEK, PORK, PORT, BEAM, PARK, PARP, PART, PEAK, PECK, PELT, PENT, PERK, PERT, PEST, TEAM, TERN, BERG, BERM, GERM, JERK, TEEM, TERM, VERT.

Your route

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Graph reading

PREP is the narrowest displayed bridge

After PEEP becomes PREP, only 1 move preserves the shortest remaining distance. At the prior row, alternatives such as KEEP, DEEP, PEER, PEEL show what the route declined.

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

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 11:34 UTC Puzzle date: September 3, 2026