#112 · Saturday, 28 March 2026

Ladder answer

• OCEAN 5 letters
• ROMANCE 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• COMMANDER 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

OCEAN sits inside ROMANCE, which sits inside COMMANDER — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: CAENO · ONEARCM · EROAMMCND.

LockCode answer: 7019

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 7041: 2 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 3 of 7, 0, 4, 1 are in the code.
2. 5638 scored nothing, so 5, 6, 3, 8 are all out.
3. 8753: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 8, 7, 5, 3 are in the code.
4. 1745: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 1, 7, 4, 5 are in the code.
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.