Verified solution
The shortest route from ACES
ACESAPESAPEDSPEDSLEDPLEDPLODPLOPPOOP
- 01ACES → APES2nd letter, C to P
- 02APES → APED4th letter, S to D
- 03APED → SPED1st letter, A to S
- 04SPED → SLED2nd letter, P to L
- 05SLED → PLED1st letter, S to P
- 06PLED → PLOD3rd letter, E to O
- 07PLOD → PLOP4th letter, D to P
- 08PLOP → POOP2nd letter, L to O
First moves
What happens after the opening word?
ACES has 10 legal one-letter moves. These are the best routes after move one:
APES7 leftACED7 leftAGES8 leftALES8 leftAVES8 leftAWES8 leftAXES8 leftACTS8 leftACER8 leftICES9 left
Answer notes
Why there can be more than one answer.
This opening has 2 distinct paths at the minimum length of 8. The route shown above is one complete answer, not the only valid sequence. Any route reaching POOP in 8 moves is equally short.
Calculate a route from a different word →