Verified solution
The shortest route from ICES
ICESIDESIDEMITEMSTEMSTEPSTOPSLOPPLOPPOOP
- 01ICES → IDES2nd letter, C to D
- 02IDES → IDEM4th letter, S to M
- 03IDEM → ITEM2nd letter, D to T
- 04ITEM → STEM1st letter, I to S
- 05STEM → STEP4th letter, M to P
- 06STEP → STOP3rd letter, E to O
- 07STOP → SLOP2nd letter, T to L
- 08SLOP → PLOP1st letter, S to P
- 09PLOP → POOP2nd letter, L to O
First moves
What happens after the opening word?
ICES has 4 legal one-letter moves. These are the best routes after move one:
ACES8 leftIDES8 leftICED8 leftICER9 left
Answer notes
Why there can be more than one answer.
This opening has 4 distinct paths at the minimum length of 9. The route shown above is one complete answer, not the only valid sequence. Any route reaching POOP in 9 moves is equally short.
Calculate a route from a different word →