#190 · Sunday, 14 June 2026

Ladder answer

• GIVEN 5 letters
• VINTAGE 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• TRAVELING 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

GIVEN sits inside VINTAGE, which sits inside TRAVELING — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: IEGVN · EVIATGN · TEGLAIVNR.

LockCode answer: 6914

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 6953: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 6, 9, 5, 3 are in the code.
2. 1784: 1 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 2 of 1, 7, 8, 4 are in the code.
3. 7201: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 7, 2, 0, 1 are in the code.
4. 6428: 1 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 2 of 6, 4, 2, 8 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.