Go Get It!

Friends that live a bit north of us have a cat named Ted that loves to play fetch with his little stuffed mouse. He'll bring it right up to you, wait for you to throw it, retrieve it, and then bring it right back to you again, and drop it within arm's reach. And he'll do this over and over and over again, seemingly never getting bored with the routine. Ted's determination spawns this week's mentalfloss.com Brain Game Wednesday Wordplay puzzle. Good luck!

By changing one letter in each step to form English words, and leaving all other letters in their original positions, convert PLAYS into FETCH in the fewest possible steps.

P L A Y S_ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _F E T C H

Here is an 8-step SOLUTION.

AN 8-STEP SOLUTION:

P L A Y S
P L A N S
P L A N E
P L A C E
P E A C E
P E A C H
R E A C H
R E T C H
F E T C H

Did you come up with a different sequence of words (shorter, longer, or the same length)? Feel free to share your solution with us in the comments below. Thanks for playing!