#195 · Friday, 19 June 2026

Ladder answer

• PRICE 5 letters
• PREDICT 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• PRACTICED 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

PRICE sits inside PREDICT, which sits inside PRACTICED — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: RCPIE · CTIEDRP · ICECTPDRA.

LockCode answer: 6209

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 5239: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 5, 2, 3, 9 are in the code.
2. 9027: 0 in the right place, 3 in the wrong place — 3 of 9, 0, 2, 7 are in the code.
3. 2159: 1 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 2 of 2, 1, 5, 9 are in the code.
4. 3527: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 3, 5, 2, 7 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.