Historical route lab

Poople #518 DIED Answer

Poople #518 started at DIED on January 14, 2027. Its narrow opening changes letters in the sequence D>P, I>L, E>O, D>P, L>O, with 1 par-preserving first moves.

Replay DIED Scores & notes Browse archive

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

Calculated from the current word graph

DIED route profile

Par5 moves6 words including start and target

Shortest routes1Exact routes in the current accepted graph

Legal first moves81 keep par

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

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

Reveal the complete 5-move answer

DIED -> PIED -> PLED -> PLOD -> PLOP -> POOP

Step 0DIEDStart

Step 1PIEDBridge

Step 2PLEDBridge

Step 3PLODBridge

Step 4PLOPBridge

Step 5POOPTarget

Route anatomy

What changes at every step

Step 1DIED -> PIED

Tile 1 changes D to P; the move is closer by letter shape. PIED has 8 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 4 moves remaining. Other legal exits from DIED include TIED, DIES, DEED, LIED.
Step 2PIED -> PLED

Tile 2 changes I to L; the move is sideways by letter shape. PLED has 7 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 3 moves remaining. Other legal exits from PIED include PEED, TIED, PIER, LIED.
Step 3PLED -> PLOD

Tile 3 changes E to O; the move is closer by letter shape. PLOD has 7 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 2 moves remaining. Other legal exits from PLED include PLEA, FLED, SLED, BLED.
Step 4PLOD -> PLOP

Tile 4 changes D to P; the move is closer by letter shape. PLOP has 11 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 1 move remaining. Other legal exits from PLOD include PLOT, PROD, PLOW, PLOY.
Step 5PLOP -> POOP

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

Opening decision

Which first moves preserve par?

DIED has 8 legal one-letter neighbors, but only PIED keeps the route at 5 moves. Nearby detours begin TIED (+1), DIES (+1), DEED (+1), LIED (+1).

Compare 8 calculated first moves

Move	Changed tile	Total	Verdict	Shortest continuations
PIED	1: D -> P	5	Keeps par	1
TIED	1: D -> T	6	Adds 1 move	2
DIES	4: D -> S	6	Adds 1 move	1
DEED	2: I -> E	6	Adds 1 move	5
LIED	1: D -> L	6	Adds 1 move	2
DYED	2: I -> Y	6	Adds 1 move	1
VIED	1: D -> V	6	Adds 1 move	1
DIET	4: D -> T	7	Adds 2 moves	2

DIED opening fingerprint

DIED groups its legal first moves as tile 1: PIED, TIED, LIED, VIED; tile 2: DEED, DYED; tile 4: DIES, DIET. Two moves from the start, 44 off-route words are reachable; the nearest sampled frontier is DEEP, DEER, DOES, DYER, HEED, LIEN, PEED, TOED, DEED, DEEM, DIBS, DIES, DIGS, DIMS, DUES, DYED, DYES, FEED, LIED, LIES, LIEU, NEED, PIER, PIES.

Your route

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Graph reading

PLED is the narrowest displayed bridge

After PIED becomes PLED, only 1 move preserves the shortest remaining distance. At the prior row, alternatives such as PEED, TIED, PIER, LIED show what the route declined.

Direct-shape gains: 4
Sideways steps: 1
Temporary shape detours: 0
Steps touching a vowel: 3

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: 2026-08-20 16:50 UTC Puzzle date: January 14, 2027