#104 · Friday, 20 March 2026

Ladder answer

• RESET 5 letters
• REQUEST 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• GROTESQUE 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

RESET sits inside REQUEST, which sits inside GROTESQUE — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: ETRES · QSEUTER · GEUSEOTRQ.

LockCode answer: 5348

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 4538 has every digit of the code — only the order is wrong.
2. 7910 scored nothing, so 7, 9, 1, 0 are all out.
3. 7261 scored nothing, so 7, 2, 6, 1 are all out.
4. 7610 scored nothing, so 7, 6, 1, 0 are all out.
5. After all clues, 8 codes remain possible.

With 8 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.