Answers for Daily #16

The starting word was

First moves

11 words are one letter away from MOON.

BOON: noun A good thing; a thing to be thankful for or to appreciate duly.
GOON: noun A thug; a usually muscular henchman with little intelligence.
LOON: noun A crazy or deranged person; a lunatic.
NOON: noun The time of day when the Sun seems to reach its highest point in the sky; solar noon.
SOON: adjective Short in length of time from the present.
MOAN: noun A low, mournful cry of pain, sorrow or pleasure.

Also: MORN, MOOD, MOOR, MOOS, MOOT

MOON → LOON → LION → LIEN → MIEN

Once the words before it are used, nobody can change MIEN: a dead end, worth 3 extra points.

Every Daily hides one golden word a few moves from the start. This one was BURN.

From MOON, 2,140 words can be reached one letter at a time.

Definitions from Wiktionary