APES to POOP in 7 moves
Follow each one-letter change, then return to the puzzle and see whether you can reproduce the route without help.
01
APES → APED
Change letter 4 from S to D.
02
APED → SPED
Change letter 1 from A to S.
03
SPED → SLED
Change letter 2 from P to L.
04
SLED → PLED
Change letter 1 from S to P.
05
PLED → PLOD
Change letter 3 from E to O.
06
PLOD → PLOP
Change letter 4 from D to P.
07
PLOP → POOP
Change letter 2 from L to O.
What to learn from this route
Word ladders become easier when you work backward from the target. Look for bridge words such as BOOP, COOP, LOOP, POOL, POOR, or POMP, then connect your starting word to one of those late-game options.