#11 · Wednesday, 17 December 2025

Ladder answer

• PAPER 5 letters
• WRAPPER 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• PAPERWORK 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

PAPER sits inside WRAPPER, which sits inside PAPERWORK — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: PRAPE · APERWRP · RPKEAPRWO.

LockCode answer: 2945

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 2976: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 2, 9, 7, 6 are in the code.
2. 2059: 1 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 3 of 2, 0, 5, 9 are in the code.
3. 7293: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 7, 2, 9, 3 are in the code.
4. 5892: 0 in the right place, 3 in the wrong place — 3 of 5, 8, 9, 2 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 4 codes remain possible.

With 4 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.