Verified solution
The shortest route from OWES
OWESEWESEYESDYESDOESDOERDOORPOORPOOP
- 01OWES → EWES1st letter, O to E
- 02EWES → EYES2nd letter, W to Y
- 03EYES → DYES1st letter, E to D
- 04DYES → DOES2nd letter, Y to O
- 05DOES → DOER4th letter, S to R
- 06DOER → DOOR3rd letter, E to O
- 07DOOR → POOR1st letter, D to P
- 08POOR → POOP4th letter, R to P
First moves
What happens after the opening word?
OWES has 10 legal one-letter moves. These are the best routes after move one:
EWES7 leftOPES7 leftAWES8 leftODES8 leftONES8 leftORES8 leftOWLS8 leftOWED8 leftOWNS9 leftOWER9 left
Answer notes
Why there can be more than one answer.
This opening has 6 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 →