Verified solution
The shortest route from YANK
YANKBANKBONKBOOKBOOPPOOP
- 01YANK → BANK1st letter, Y to B
- 02BANK → BONK2nd letter, A to O
- 03BONK → BOOK3rd letter, N to O
- 04BOOK → BOOP4th letter, K to P
- 05BOOP → POOP1st letter, B to P
First moves
What happens after the opening word?
YANK has 9 legal one-letter moves. These are the best routes after move one:
BANK4 leftHANK4 leftDANK5 leftLANK5 leftRANK5 leftSANK5 leftTANK5 leftWANK5 leftYANG6 left
Answer notes
Why there can be more than one answer.
This opening has 2 distinct paths at the minimum length of 5. The route shown above is one complete answer, not the only valid sequence. Any route reaching POOP in 5 moves is equally short.
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