Historical route lab

Poople #588 BIND Answer

Poople #588 started at BIND on March 25, 2027. Its narrow opening changes letters in the sequence I>O, D>K, N>O, K>P, B>P, with 1 par-preserving first moves.

Replay BIND Scores & notes Browse archive

Archive value: this is not a copied daily page. Its tables are calculated for BIND, including 10 legal openings and route signature 2-4-3-4-1.

Calculated from the current word graph

BIND route profile

Par5 moves6 words including start and target

Shortest routes1Exact routes in the current accepted graph

Legal first moves101 keep par

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

Reveal the complete 5-move answer

BIND -> BOND -> BONK -> BOOK -> BOOP -> POOP

Step 0BINDStart

Step 1BONDBridge

Step 2BONKBridge

Step 3BOOKBridge

Step 4BOOPBridge

Step 5POOPTarget

Route anatomy

What changes at every step

Step 1BIND -> BOND

Tile 2 changes I to O; the move is closer by letter shape. BOND has 10 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 4 moves remaining. Other legal exits from BIND include FIND, BAND, BEND, BINS.
Step 2BOND -> BONK

Tile 4 changes D to K; the move is sideways by letter shape. BONK has 13 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 3 moves remaining. Other legal exits from BOND include BOLD, BONE, FOND, BONG.
Step 3BONK -> BOOK

Tile 3 changes N to O; the move is closer by letter shape. BOOK has 17 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 2 moves remaining. Other legal exits from BONK include BOCK, HONK, CONK, BANK.
Step 4BOOK -> BOOP

Tile 4 changes K to P; the move is closer by letter shape. BOOP has 12 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 1 move remaining. Other legal exits from BOOK include LOOK, COOK, BOOT, HOOK.
Step 5BOOP -> POOP

Tile 1 changes B to P; the move is closer by letter shape. POOP has 11 legal neighbors, target reached, and 0 moves remaining. Other legal exits from BOOP include LOOP, COOP, HOOP, GOOP.

Opening decision

Which first moves preserve par?

BIND has 10 legal one-letter neighbors, but only BOND keeps the route at 5 moves. Nearby detours begin FIND (+1), BAND (+1), BEND (+1), BINS (+1).

Compare 8 calculated first moves

Move	Changed tile	Total	Verdict	Shortest continuations
BOND	2: I -> O	5	Keeps par	1
FIND	1: B -> F	6	Adds 1 move	3
BAND	2: I -> A	6	Adds 1 move	2
BEND	2: I -> E	6	Adds 1 move	1
BINS	4: D -> S	6	Adds 1 move	4
MIND	1: B -> M	7	Adds 2 moves	19
KIND	1: B -> K	7	Adds 2 moves	4
WIND	1: B -> W	7	Adds 2 moves	6

BIND opening fingerprint

BIND groups its legal first moves as tile 1: FIND, MIND, KIND, WIND, RIND; tile 2: BOND, BAND, BEND; tile 3: BIRD; tile 4: BINS. Two moves from the start, 68 off-route words are reachable; the nearest sampled frontier is BANK, BIAS, BIBS, BIDS, BITS, BOLD, BONE, BONG, BONY, FOND, BALD, BAND, BANE, BANG, BANS, BARD, BEAD, BEND, BENT, BUNS, FEND, FIND, FUND, GIRD.

Your route

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Graph reading

BOND is the narrowest displayed bridge

After BIND becomes BOND, only 1 move preserves the shortest remaining distance. At the prior row, alternatives such as FIND, BAND, BEND, BINS 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: 2026-08-23 14:24 UTC Puzzle date: March 25, 2027