Historical route lab

Poople #421 CARB Answer

Poople #421 started at CARB on October 9, 2026. Its narrow opening changes letters in the sequence B>P, R>M, A>O, M>O, C>P, with 1 par-preserving first moves.

Replay CARB Scores & notes Browse archive

Archive value: this is not a copied daily page. Its tables are calculated for CARB, including 8 legal openings and route signature 4-3-2-3-1.

Calculated from the current word graph

CARB route profile

Par5 moves6 words including start and target

Shortest routes2Exact routes in the current accepted graph

Legal first moves81 keep par

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

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-B. 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

CARB -> CARP -> CAMP -> COMP -> COOP -> POOP

Step 0CARBStart

Step 1CARPBridge

Step 2CAMPBridge

Step 3COMPBridge

Step 4COOPBridge

Step 5POOPTarget

Route anatomy

What changes at every step

Step 1CARB -> CARP

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

Tile 3 changes R to M; the move is sideways by letter shape. CAMP has 11 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 3 moves remaining. Other legal exits from CARP include CARE, CARD, CART, CARS.
Step 3CAMP -> COMP

Tile 2 changes A to O; the move is closer by letter shape. COMP has 8 legal neighbors, 2 shortest continuations, and 2 moves remaining. Other legal exits from CAMP include RAMP, CAME, LAMP, CAMS.
Step 4COMP -> COOP

Tile 3 changes M to O; the move is closer by letter shape. COOP has 14 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 1 move remaining. Other legal exits from COMP include POMP, COUP, ROMP, COME.
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?

CARB has 8 legal one-letter neighbors, but only CARP keeps the route at 5 moves. Nearby detours begin CARE (+1), CARD (+1), CART (+1), CARS (+1).

Compare 8 calculated first moves

Move	Changed tile	Total	Verdict	Shortest continuations
CARP	4: B -> P	5	Keeps par	2
CARE	4: B -> E	6	Adds 1 move	13
CARD	4: B -> D	6	Adds 1 move	3
CART	4: B -> T	6	Adds 1 move	3
CARS	4: B -> S	6	Adds 1 move	10
BARB	1: C -> B	6	Adds 1 move	1
CURB	2: A -> U	7	Adds 2 moves	17
GARB	1: C -> G	7	Adds 2 moves	3

CARB opening fingerprint

CARB groups its legal first moves as tile 1: BARB, GARB; tile 2: CURB; tile 4: CARP, CARE, CARD, CART, CARS. Two moves from the start, 70 off-route words are reachable; the nearest sampled frontier is BARN, CABS, CADS, CAME, CAMS, CANS, CAPS, CAST, CATS, CAWS, CORD, CORE, PARE, BARB, BARD, BARE, BARF, BARK, BARS, BURB, CAFE, CAGE, CAKE, CANE.

Your route

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Graph reading

CARP is the narrowest displayed bridge

After CARB becomes CARP, only 1 move preserves the shortest remaining distance. At the prior row, alternatives such as CARE, CARD, 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 19:02 UTC Puzzle date: October 9, 2026