#25 · Wednesday, 31 December 2025

Ladder answer

• TRIAL 5 letters
• PARTIAL 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• PRACTICAL 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

TRIAL sits inside PARTIAL, which sits inside PRACTICAL — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: AILTR · PRATILA · TACAICPLR.

LockCode answer: 3950

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 0239: 0 in the right place, 3 in the wrong place — 3 of 0, 2, 3, 9 are in the code.
2. 4970: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 4, 9, 7, 0 are in the code.
3. 0497: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 0, 4, 9, 7 are in the code.
4. 3764: 1 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 1 of 3, 7, 6, 4 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 4 codes remain possible.

With 4 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.