#189 · Saturday, 13 June 2026

Ladder answer

• START 5 letters
• TRANSIT 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• RESISTANT 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

START sits inside TRANSIT, which sits inside RESISTANT — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: TRSTA · ITSRNAT · ESITTNASR.

LockCode answer: 6319

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 6371: 2 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 3 of 6, 3, 7, 1 are in the code.
2. 5084 scored nothing, so 5, 0, 8, 4 are all out.
3. 0592: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 0, 5, 9, 2 are in the code.
4. 0945: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 0, 9, 4, 5 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.