#243 · Thursday, 6 August 2026

Ladder answer

• TRIED 5 letters
• RETIRED 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• TRIGGERED 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

TRIED sits inside RETIRED, which sits inside TRIGGERED — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: RETID · IERDRTE · GRGDTREIE.

LockCode answer: 6198

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 0168: 2 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 3 of 0, 1, 6, 8 are in the code.
2. 4260: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 4, 2, 6, 0 are in the code.
3. 7062: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 7, 0, 6, 2 are in the code.
4. 8563: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 8, 5, 6, 3 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 5 codes remain possible.

With 5 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.