Historical route lab

Poople #419 CARD Answer

Poople #419 started at CARD on October 7, 2026. Its selective opening changes letters in the sequence A>O, D>K, R>O, K>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 CARD, including 12 legal openings and route signature 2-4-3-4-1.

Calculated from the current word graph

CARD route profile

Par5 moves6 words including start and target

Shortest routes3Exact routes in the current accepted graph

Legal first moves122 keep par

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

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

Reveal the complete 5-move answer

CARD -> CORD -> CORK -> COOK -> COOP -> POOP

Step 0CARDStart

Step 1CORDBridge

Step 2CORKBridge

Step 3COOKBridge

Step 4COOPBridge

Step 5POOPTarget

Route anatomy

What changes at every step

Step 1CARD -> CORD

Tile 2 changes A to O; the move is closer by letter shape. CORD has 10 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 4 moves remaining. Other legal exits from CARD include CARP, CARE, CART, CARS.
Step 2CORD -> CORK

Tile 4 changes D to K; the move is sideways by letter shape. CORK has 10 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 3 moves remaining. Other legal exits from CORD include WORD, CORE, FORD, COLD.
Step 3CORK -> COOK

Tile 3 changes R to O; the move is closer by letter shape. COOK has 15 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 2 moves remaining. Other legal exits from CORK include COCK, CONK, WORK, CORE.
Step 4COOK -> COOP

Tile 4 changes K 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 COOK include BOOK, LOOK, COOL, HOOK.
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?

CARD has 12 legal one-letter neighbors. CORD, CARP keep the route at 5 moves, while sampled detours begin CARE (+1), CART (+1), CARS (+1), WARD (+1).

Compare 8 calculated first moves

Move	Changed tile	Total	Verdict	Shortest continuations
CORD	2: A -> O	5	Keeps par	1
CARP	4: D -> P	5	Keeps par	2
CARE	4: D -> E	6	Adds 1 move	13
CART	4: D -> T	6	Adds 1 move	3
CARS	4: D -> S	6	Adds 1 move	10
WARD	1: C -> W	6	Adds 1 move	4
CARB	4: D -> B	6	Adds 1 move	2
BARD	1: C -> B	6	Adds 1 move	1

CARD opening fingerprint

CARD groups its legal first moves as tile 1: WARD, BARD, HARD, YARD, LARD; tile 2: CORD, CURD; tile 4: CARP, CARE, CART, CARS, CARB. Two moves from the start, 96 off-route words are reachable; the nearest sampled frontier is CAMP, BARN, CABS, CADS, CAME, CAMS, CANS, CAPS, CARP, CAST, CATS, CAWS, COED, COLD, CORE, CORN, FORD, PARE, WORD, BALD, BAND, BARB, BARD, BARE.

Your route

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Graph reading

CORD is the narrowest displayed bridge

After CARD becomes CORD, only 1 move preserves the shortest remaining distance. At the prior row, alternatives such as CARP, CARE, CART, CARS 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: 2026-08-16 17:12 UTC Puzzle date: October 7, 2026