#133 · Saturday, 18 April 2026

Ladder answer

• PRONE 5 letters
• PIONEER 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• PENSIONER 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

PRONE sits inside PIONEER, which sits inside PENSIONER — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: EORPN · ENEROIP · NRINEEPSO.

LockCode answer: 6738

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 6958: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 6, 9, 5, 8 are in the code.
2. 5863: 0 in the right place, 3 in the wrong place — 3 of 5, 8, 6, 3 are in the code.
3. 3568: 1 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 3 of 3, 5, 6, 8 are in the code.
4. 0543: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 0, 5, 4, 3 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 6 codes remain possible.

With 6 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.