Historical route lab

Poople #593 INCH Answer

Poople #593 started at INCH on March 30, 2027. Its narrow opening changes letters in the sequence N>T, I>E, T>A, E>M, A>U, H>K, M>L, U>O, C>O, K>P, L>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 INCH, including 1 legal openings and route signature 2-1-2-1-2-4-1-2-3-4-1.
Calculated from the current word graph

INCH route profile

Par11 moves12 words including start and target
Shortest routes64Exact routes in the current accepted graph
Legal first moves11 keep par
Route shapenarrow openingLetter positions 2-1-2-1-2-4-1-2-3-4-1
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 I-N-C-H. Change position 2 and keep positions 1, 3, 4 fixed. Look for a consonant-to-consonant change. Only one first move preserves the shortest length.

Reveal the complete 11-move answer

INCH -> ITCH -> ETCH -> EACH -> MACH -> MUCH -> MUCK -> LUCK -> LOCK -> LOOK -> LOOP -> POOP

Step 0INCHStart
Step 1ITCHBridge
Step 2ETCHBridge
Step 3EACHBridge
Step 4MACHBridge
Step 5MUCHBridge
Step 6MUCKBridge
Step 7LUCKBridge
Step 8LOCKBridge
Step 9LOOKBridge
Step 10LOOPBridge
Step 11POOPTarget
Route anatomy

What changes at every step

  1. Step 1INCH -> ITCH

    Tile 2 changes N to T; the move is sideways by letter shape. ITCH has 2 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 10 moves remaining. INCH has no additional off-route exit in the sampled branch set.

  2. Step 2ITCH -> ETCH

    Tile 1 changes I to E; the move is sideways by letter shape. ETCH has 2 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 9 moves remaining. ITCH has no additional off-route exit in the sampled branch set.

  3. Step 3ETCH -> EACH

    Tile 2 changes T to A; the move is sideways by letter shape. EACH has 2 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 8 moves remaining. ETCH has no additional off-route exit in the sampled branch set.

  4. Step 4EACH -> MACH

    Tile 1 changes E to M; the move is sideways by letter shape. MACH has 6 legal neighbors, 4 shortest continuations, and 7 moves remaining. EACH has no additional off-route exit in the sampled branch set.

  5. Step 5MACH -> MUCH

    Tile 2 changes A to U; the move is sideways by letter shape. MUCH has 6 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 6 moves remaining. Other legal exits from MACH include MATH, MASH, MACE, MECH.

  6. Step 6MUCH -> MUCK

    Tile 4 changes H to K; the move is sideways by letter shape. MUCK has 11 legal neighbors, 4 shortest continuations, and 5 moves remaining. Other legal exits from MUCH include SUCH, MUSH, MECH, OUCH.

  7. Step 7MUCK -> LUCK

    Tile 1 changes M to L; the move is sideways by letter shape. LUCK has 12 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 4 moves remaining. Other legal exits from MUCK include BUCK, MOCK, HUCK, SUCK.

  8. Step 8LUCK -> LOCK

    Tile 2 changes U to O; the move is closer by letter shape. LOCK has 18 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 3 moves remaining. Other legal exits from LUCK include LACK, BUCK, LICK, HUCK.

  9. Step 9LOCK -> LOOK

    Tile 3 changes C to O; the move is closer by letter shape. LOOK has 13 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 2 moves remaining. Other legal exits from LOCK include COCK, BOCK, HOCK, ROCK.

  10. Step 10LOOK -> LOOP

    Tile 4 changes K to P; the move is closer by letter shape. LOOP has 9 legal neighbors, 1 shortest continuation, and 1 move remaining. Other legal exits from LOOK include BOOK, COOK, HOOK, LOOM.

  11. Step 11LOOP -> POOP

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

Opening decision

Which first moves preserve par?

INCH has 1 legal one-letter neighbors, but only ITCH keeps the route at 11 moves. Nearby detours begin outside the sampled opening set.

Compare 1 calculated first moves
MoveChanged tileTotalVerdictShortest continuations
ITCH2: N -> T11Keeps par64

INCH opening fingerprint

INCH groups its legal first moves as tile 2: ITCH. Two moves from the start, 0 off-route words are reachable; the nearest sampled frontier is empty.

Your route

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Graph reading

ITCH is the narrowest displayed bridge

After INCH becomes ITCH, only 1 move preserves the shortest remaining distance. At the prior row, alternatives such as no sampled off-route word show what the route declined.

Direct-shape gains
4
Sideways steps
7
Temporary shape detours
0
Steps touching a vowel
6

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 19:30 UTC Puzzle date: March 30, 2027