#250 · Thursday, 13 August 2026

Ladder answer

• LEARN 5 letters
• CENTRAL 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• CERTAINLY 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

LEARN sits inside CENTRAL, which sits inside CERTAINLY — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: RNALE · EACNTLR · TYAERCILN.

LockCode answer: 6854

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 1824: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 1, 8, 2, 4 are in the code.
2. 8694: 1 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 3 of 8, 6, 9, 4 are in the code.
3. 8246: 0 in the right place, 3 in the wrong place — 3 of 8, 2, 4, 6 are in the code.
4. 0316: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 0, 3, 1, 6 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.