Historical route lab

Poople #418 RENT Answer

Poople #418 started at RENT on October 6, 2026. Its flexible opening changes letters in the sequence N>S, R>L, E>O, S>O, T>P, L>P, with 4 par-preserving first moves.

Archive value: this is not a copied daily page. Its tables are calculated for RENT, including 13 legal openings and route signature 3-1-2-3-4-1.
Calculated from the current word graph

RENT route profile

Par6 moves7 words including start and target
Shortest routes8Exact routes in the current accepted graph
Legal first moves134 keep par
Route shapeflexible openingLetter positions 3-1-2-3-4-1
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 R-E-N-T. Change position 3 and keep positions 1, 2, 4 fixed. Look for a consonant-to-consonant change. 4 different first moves preserve the shortest length.

Reveal the complete 6-move answer

RENT -> REST -> LEST -> LOST -> LOOT -> LOOP -> POOP

Step 0RENTStart
Step 1RESTBridge
Step 2LESTBridge
Step 3LOSTBridge
Step 4LOOTBridge
Step 5LOOPBridge
Step 6POOPTarget
Route anatomy

What changes at every step

  1. Step 1RENT -> REST

    Tile 3 changes N to S; the move is sideways by letter shape. REST has 13 legal neighbors, 2 shortest continuations, and 5 moves remaining. Other legal exits from RENT include BENT, LENT, PENT, SENT.

  2. Step 2REST -> LEST

    Tile 1 changes R to L; the move is sideways by letter shape. LEST has 19 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 4 moves remaining. Other legal exits from REST include HEST, BEST, WEST, TEST.

  3. Step 3LEST -> LOST

    Tile 2 changes E to O; the move is closer by letter shape. LOST has 13 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 3 moves remaining. Other legal exits from LEST include LIST, LAST, LEFT, LUST.

  4. Step 4LOST -> LOOT

    Tile 3 changes S to O; the move is closer by letter shape. LOOT has 16 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 2 moves remaining. Other legal exits from LOST include COST, HOST, LOFT, LOUT.

  5. Step 5LOOT -> LOOP

    Tile 4 changes T to P; the move is closer by letter shape. LOOP has 9 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 1 move remaining. Other legal exits from LOOT include LOOK, BOOT, LOOM, LOON.

  6. Step 6LOOP -> POOP

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

Opening decision

Which first moves preserve par?

RENT has 13 legal one-letter neighbors. REST, BENT, LENT, PENT keep the route at 6 moves, while sampled detours begin SENT (+1), WENT (+1), CENT (+1), TENT (+1).

Compare 8 calculated first moves
MoveChanged tileTotalVerdictShortest continuations
REST3: N -> S6Keeps par2
BENT1: R -> B6Keeps par2
LENT1: R -> L6Keeps par2
PENT1: R -> P6Keeps par2
SENT1: R -> S7Adds 1 move15
WENT1: R -> W7Adds 1 move15
CENT1: R -> C7Adds 1 move8
TENT1: R -> T7Adds 1 move12

RENT opening fingerprint

RENT groups its legal first moves as tile 1: BENT, LENT, PENT, SENT, WENT, CENT, TENT, VENT, DENT; tile 2: RANT, RUNT; tile 3: REST; tile 4: RENO. Two moves from the start, 76 off-route words are reachable; the nearest sampled frontier is BEAT, BELT, HEST, LEFT, PEAT, BEET, BEND, BENT, BEST, BUNT, CANT, DEFT, DELT, DENS, FEST, HUNT, JEST, LENT, LEPT, LINT, NEST, PELT, PEND, PENS.

Your route

Compare a path you played

Your route stays in this browser; it is not submitted.
Graph reading

LOOP is the narrowest displayed bridge

After LOOT becomes LOOP, only 1 move preserves the shortest remaining distance. At the prior row, alternatives such as LOOK, BOOT, LOOM, LOON show what the route declined.

Direct-shape gains
4
Sideways steps
2
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: 2026-08-16 16:21 UTC Puzzle date: October 6, 2026