#134 · Sunday, 19 April 2026

Ladder answer

• PIECE 5 letters
• PRECISE 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• SPECIFIER 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

PIECE sits inside PRECISE, which sits inside SPECIFIER — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: PIEEC · SEPIERC · CPEFIIRSE.

LockCode answer: 6129

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 6059: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 6, 0, 5, 9 are in the code.
2. 5012: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 5, 0, 1, 2 are in the code.
3. 5976: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 5, 9, 7, 6 are in the code.
4. 6037: 1 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 1 of 6, 0, 3, 7 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.