#278 · Thursday, 10 September 2026

Ladder answer

• RALLY 5 letters
• LYRICAL 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• RADICALLY 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

RALLY sits inside LYRICAL, which sits inside RADICALLY — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: YALRL · AIRLCLY · DYIALCALR.

LockCode answer: 2873

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 2193: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 2, 1, 9, 3 are in the code.
2. 8159: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 8, 1, 5, 9 are in the code.
3. 3204: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 3, 2, 0, 4 are in the code.
4. 8143: 1 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 2 of 8, 1, 4, 3 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 8 codes remain possible.

With 8 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.

7 players finished LockCode; 100% solved it, averaging 3.3 guesses.

Lumen answer: SHIP