About room #304
- Ladder
- WHERE → STATE
- Word length
- 5
- Par (fewest steps)
- 9
- Letters that differ
- 4
Room #304 climbs from WHERE to STATE. Of their 5 letters, 4 differ (positions 1, 2, 3, 4); each of those needs a rung of its own, so the shortest imaginable ladder has 4 rungs — par here is 9.
So 5 rungs are sidesteps: somewhere a correct letter gets spoiled for a moment, or a letter from neither word is borrowed.
Five-letter words have few neighbours, so plan the last rungs first: which words could sit just below the target?
Five-letter words and ladders of six to nine steps.
Stuck? Open a hint
Hint: the first step
Change letter 1 to T: THERE.
Show one shortest ladder
WHERE → THERE → THESE → THOSE → WHOSE → WHOLE → WHALE → SHALE → STALE → STATE
Rules of Word Ladder · One letter at a time: planning ladders and guesses