#197 · Sunday, 21 June 2026

Ladder answer

• TRIBE 5 letters
• TRIBUNE 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• BLUEPRINT 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

TRIBE sits inside TRIBUNE, which sits inside BLUEPRINT — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: ITREB · UEINTRB · TNEIPBRLU.

LockCode answer: 8237

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 8247: 3 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 3 of 8, 2, 4, 7 are in the code.
2. 6472: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 6, 4, 7, 2 are in the code.
3. 8609: 1 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 1 of 8, 6, 0, 9 are in the code.
4. 0629: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 0, 6, 2, 9 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.