Verified solution
The shortest route from ALES
ALESALMSAIMSAIDSBIDSBODSBOOSBOOPPOOP
- 01ALES → ALMS3rd letter, E to M
- 02ALMS → AIMS2nd letter, L to I
- 03AIMS → AIDS3rd letter, M to D
- 04AIDS → BIDS1st letter, A to B
- 05BIDS → BODS2nd letter, I to O
- 06BODS → BOOS3rd letter, D to O
- 07BOOS → BOOP4th letter, S to P
- 08BOOP → POOP1st letter, B to P
First moves
What happens after the opening word?
ALES has 10 legal one-letter moves. These are the best routes after move one:
APES7 leftALMS7 leftACES8 leftAGES8 leftAVES8 leftAWES8 leftAXES8 leftALAS8 leftALBS8 leftALPS8 left
Answer notes
Why there can be more than one answer.
This opening has 7 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 →