Change a 4-letter word into POOP one letter at a time. A free daily word ladder you can finish in a minute.
What the Poop Word Game is
A word ladder is one of the oldest word puzzles there is: Lewis Carroll invented it in 1877 and called it Doublets. You turn one word into another by changing a single letter at a time, and every rung of the ladder has to be a real word. Ours always ends in the same place. Start from the day’s word, climb down to POOP, and try to do it in as few steps as the dictionary allows.
If you play Wordle, the rhythm will feel familiar — one puzzle a day, the same for everyone, and a spoiler-free grid to share — but the puzzle is different. Wordle asks you to find a hidden word. The ladder asks you to find a route, and there is usually more than one.
2,000+four-letter words that can reach POOP
1new ladder every day, at midnight where you are
3–8steps at par, depending on the day
0accounts, downloads or data sent anywhere
How the puzzle is chosen
The word list is ours. We took a large list of English four-letter words, kept the ones common enough that most readers would know them, removed names, slurs and anything we would not print, and then kept only the words from which POOP is actually reachable — so there are no dead ends, only longer routes. The daily start word comes from a fixed, shuffled list of everyday words, which is why everyone in the world gets the same ladder on the same date, and why the number goes up by one each day.
Par is computed the honest way, by searching every possible route through the list, so it is the true shortest ladder rather than a guess. Yesterday’s ladder shows one of those shortest routes once the day has passed. We never show today’s.
You start with a four-letter word and change one letter at a time. Every word you make has to be a real four-letter word, and each has to differ from the one before by exactly one letter. Keep going until the word is POOP. The fewer steps you take, the better your ladder; the shortest possible route is called par.
What is a word ladder?+
A word ladder is a puzzle in which you turn one word into another by changing a single letter at each step while keeping a real word every time. Lewis Carroll invented it in 1877 and called it Doublets. The Poop Word Game is a daily word ladder whose target word is always POOP.
When does the new ladder come out?+
A new ladder starts at midnight in your own time zone, and the puzzle number goes up by one each day. Everyone who plays on the same date gets the same starting word.
What is today's answer?+
We never show today's route while the day is on. Once it has passed, "Yesterday's ladder" under the board shows one of the shortest routes for the previous puzzle. There are usually several.
How is my score worked out?+
Your score is the number of steps you took compared with par, the shortest ladder that exists in our word list. Reaching POOP in par is the best possible result, and your stats track how often you get there, along with your current and best streaks.
Can I play more than once a day?+
The daily ladder is once a day so everyone solves the same one. After you finish, you can play as many practice ladders as you like; they use random start words and do not count toward your stats.
Is it free? Do I need an account?+
It is free and there is no account, download or sign-up. Your current ladder, your streak and your stats are stored in your own browser, and nothing about your game is sent anywhere.
Does it work on my phone?+
Yes. The Poop Word Game works in any modern mobile browser. Tap the on-screen keys or use your device keyboard, and the game remembers where you were if you come back later the same day.
How is the Poop Word Game different from Wordle?+
Wordle asks you to guess one hidden word from colour clues. A word ladder asks you to find a route between two words you can already see, one letter at a time, and there is usually more than one route. Both are a puzzle a day, and both give you a spoiler-free grid to share.
A game, built by the desk for the fun of it. Word ladders are Lewis Carroll’s; the word list, the puzzles and the code are ours.