#111 · Friday, 27 March 2026

Ladder answer

• LEARN 5 letters
• NUCLEAR 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• NUMERICAL 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

LEARN sits inside NUCLEAR, which sits inside NUMERICAL — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: RLENA · RNACUEL · CLMNRUEIA.

LockCode answer: 2781

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 2071: 2 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 3 of 2, 0, 7, 1 are in the code.
2. 4953 scored nothing, so 4, 9, 5, 3 are all out.
3. 4638: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 4, 6, 3, 8 are in the code.
4. 1325: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 1, 3, 2, 5 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 7 codes remain possible.

With 7 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.