Historical route lab

Poople #552 SODA Answer

Poople #552 started at SODA on February 17, 2027. Its selective opening changes letters in the sequence D>M, S>C, A>P, M>O, C>P, with 3 par-preserving first moves.

Replay SODA Scores & notes Browse archive
Archive value: this is not a copied daily page. Its tables are calculated for SODA, including 5 legal openings and route signature 3-1-4-3-1.
Calculated from the current word graph

SODA route profile

Par5 moves6 words including start and target
Shortest routes8Exact routes in the current accepted graph
Legal first moves53 keep par
Route shapeselective openingLetter positions 3-1-4-3-1
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 S-O-D-A. Change position 3 and keep positions 1, 2, 4 fixed. Look for a consonant-to-consonant change. 3 different first moves preserve the shortest length.

Reveal the complete 5-move answer

SODA -> SOMA -> COMA -> COMP -> COOP -> POOP

Step 0SODAStart
Step 1SOMABridge
Step 2COMABridge
Step 3COMPBridge
Step 4COOPBridge
Step 5POOPTarget
Route anatomy

What changes at every step

  1. Step 1SODA -> SOMA

    Tile 3 changes D to M; the move is sideways by letter shape. SOMA has 5 legal neighbors, 2 shortest continuations, and 4 moves remaining. Other legal exits from SODA include CODA, SODS, SOFA, SOBA.

  2. Step 2SOMA -> COMA

    Tile 1 changes S to C; the move is sideways by letter shape. COMA has 7 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 3 moves remaining. Other legal exits from SOMA include SOME, SOFA, SOBA.

  3. Step 3COMA -> COMP

    Tile 4 changes A to P; the move is closer by letter shape. COMP has 8 legal neighbors, 2 shortest continuations, and 2 moves remaining. Other legal exits from COMA include COME, COMB, COLA, COCA.

  4. 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.

  5. 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?

SODA has 5 legal one-letter neighbors. SOMA, CODA, SODS keep the route at 5 moves, while sampled detours begin SOFA (+1), SOBA (+1).

Compare 5 calculated first moves
MoveChanged tileTotalVerdictShortest continuations
SOMA3: D -> M5Keeps par3
CODA1: S -> C5Keeps par3
SODS4: A -> S5Keeps par2
SOFA3: D -> F6Adds 1 move8
SOBA3: D -> B6Adds 1 move6

SODA opening fingerprint

SODA groups its legal first moves as tile 1: CODA; tile 3: SOMA, SOFA, SOBA; tile 4: SODS. Two moves from the start, 23 off-route words are reachable; the nearest sampled frontier is BODS, CODS, SOME, BOBA, COCA, CODE, COLA, GODS, MODS, NODS, PODS, RODS, SOBS, SOFT, SOGS, SONS, SOPS, SOWS, SADS, SOBA, SOFA, SOLS, SUDS.

Your route

Compare a path you played

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

COMA is the narrowest displayed bridge

After SOMA becomes COMA, only 1 move preserves the shortest remaining distance. At the prior row, alternatives such as SOME, SOFA, SOBA show what the route declined.

Direct-shape gains
3
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: 2026-08-22 00:52 UTC Puzzle date: February 17, 2027