Historical route lab

Poople #426 MICS Answer

Poople #426 started at MICS on October 14, 2026. Its narrow opening changes letters in the sequence C>S, I>O, S>O, S>R, M>P, R>P, with 1 par-preserving first moves.

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Archive value: this is not a copied daily page. Its tables are calculated for MICS, including 6 legal openings and route signature 3-2-3-4-1-4.

Calculated from the current word graph

MICS route profile

Par6 moves7 words including start and target

Shortest routes4Exact routes in the current accepted graph

Legal first moves61 keep par

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

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

Reveal the complete 6-move answer

MICS -> MISS -> MOSS -> MOOS -> MOOR -> POOR -> POOP

Step 0MICSStart

Step 1MISSBridge

Step 2MOSSBridge

Step 3MOOSBridge

Step 4MOORBridge

Step 5POORBridge

Step 6POOPTarget

Route anatomy

What changes at every step

Step 1MICS -> MISS

Tile 3 changes C to S; the move is sideways by letter shape. MISS has 11 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 5 moves remaining. Other legal exits from MICS include PICS, MICE, TICS, SICS.
Step 2MISS -> MOSS

Tile 2 changes I to O; the move is closer by letter shape. MOSS has 19 legal neighbors, 2 shortest continuations, and 4 moves remaining. Other legal exits from MISS include MASS, MESS, MIST, HISS.
Step 3MOSS -> MOOS

Tile 3 changes S to O; the move is closer by letter shape. MOOS has 16 legal neighbors, 3 shortest continuations, and 3 moves remaining. Other legal exits from MOSS include BOSS, MOST, LOSS, MOMS.
Step 4MOOS -> MOOR

Tile 4 changes S to R; the move is sideways by letter shape. MOOR has 8 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 2 moves remaining. Other legal exits from MOOS include COOS, BOOS, MOON, MOOD.
Step 5MOOR -> POOR

Tile 1 changes M to P; the move is closer by letter shape. POOR has 7 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 1 move remaining. Other legal exits from MOOR include DOOR, BOOR, MOON, MOOD.
Step 6POOR -> POOP

Tile 4 changes R to P; the move is closer by letter shape. POOP has 11 legal neighbors, target reached, and 0 moves remaining. Other legal exits from POOR include POOL, POOF, DOOR, POUR.

Opening decision

Which first moves preserve par?

MICS has 6 legal one-letter neighbors, but only MISS keeps the route at 6 moves. Nearby detours begin PICS (+1), MICE (+1), TICS (+1), SICS (+1).

Compare 6 calculated first moves

Move	Changed tile	Total	Verdict	Shortest continuations
MISS	3: C -> S	6	Keeps par	4
PICS	1: M -> P	7	Adds 1 move	18
MICE	4: S -> E	7	Adds 1 move	14
TICS	1: M -> T	7	Adds 1 move	17
SICS	1: M -> S	7	Adds 1 move	10
MICA	4: S -> A	8	Adds 2 moves	18

MICS opening fingerprint

MICS groups its legal first moves as tile 1: PICS, TICS, SICS; tile 3: MISS; tile 4: MICE, MICA. Two moves from the start, 45 off-route words are reachable; the nearest sampled frontier is DICE, HISS, LICE, MASS, MESS, MIKE, MILE, MIME, MIRE, MIST, MUSS, PECS, PICK, PIES, PIGS, PINS, PIPS, PITS, SICK, SINS, SIPS, SITS, TICK, TINS.

Your route

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Graph reading

POOR is the narrowest displayed bridge

After MOOR becomes POOR, only 1 move preserves the shortest remaining distance. At the prior row, alternatives such as DOOR, BOOR, MOON, MOOD 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 23:21 UTC Puzzle date: October 14, 2026