#292 · Thursday, 24 September 2026

Ladder answer

• STATE 5 letters
• STARTER 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• RESTRAINT 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

STATE sits inside STARTER, which sits inside RESTRAINT — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: TTASE · ARSTETR · SNIATERRT.

LockCode answer: 8693

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 0613: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 0, 6, 1, 3 are in the code.
2. 0397: 1 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 2 of 0, 3, 9, 7 are in the code.
3. 9472: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 9, 4, 7, 2 are in the code.
4. 4370: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 4, 3, 7, 0 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.

Lumen answer: CAMERA