#174 · Friday, 29 May 2026

Ladder answer

• PROOF 5 letters
• ROOFTOP 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• PORTFOLIO 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

PROOF sits inside ROOFTOP, which sits inside PORTFOLIO — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: FPORO · ROFPTOO · OPLORITOF.

LockCode answer: 5381

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 6781: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 6, 7, 8, 1 are in the code.
2. 9304: 1 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 1 of 9, 3, 0, 4 are in the code.
3. 2517: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 2, 5, 1, 7 are in the code.
4. 4109: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 4, 1, 0, 9 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.