#182 · Saturday, 6 June 2026

Ladder answer

• TRAIN 5 letters
• CERTAIN 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• CONTAINER 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

TRAIN sits inside CERTAIN, which sits inside CONTAINER — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: RIANT · ERNICAT · ENINOCRAT.

LockCode answer: 1572

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 1542: 3 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 3 of 1, 5, 4, 2 are in the code.
2. 4159: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 4, 1, 5, 9 are in the code.
3. 6708: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 6, 7, 0, 8 are in the code.
4. 4193: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 4, 1, 9, 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.