In traditional word melds or word ladders only one letter is changed at a time but still creating a proper word.
Here I wish to build a 3 x 3 hollow tower using alphabetically labeled tiles.
I begin with four 3-letter words as the foundation in a standard crossword format.
When laying the next layer I may change any tiles providing I do not change one that is adjacent to one already changed on that layer. Those not changed are carried to the next layer.
The graphic shows three potential first layer changes:
a) corner cells -right
b) centre cells -left
c) both of the above - lower grid
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Given the grid on the left, how do you arrive at that on the right in equal to or fewer layers than 8?
| Layer 1 | | | Layer 8 |
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Using this grid as your base show how to build a tower such that every letter in the foundation has been replaced (please no proper nouns).
Latest: 
Bonus: 
Given that:
