#299 · Thursday, 1 October 2026

Ladder answer

• LASER 5 letters
• REFUSAL 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• MASTERFUL 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

LASER sits inside REFUSAL, which sits inside MASTERFUL — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: SLREA · LUSREAF · UALSRFEMT.

LockCode answer: 8432

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 8602: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 8, 6, 0, 2 are in the code.
2. 9806: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 9, 8, 0, 6 are in the code.
3. 0865: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 0, 8, 6, 5 are in the code.
4. 9051 scored nothing, so 9, 0, 5, 1 are all out.
5. After all clues, 12 codes remain possible.

With 12 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: CACTUS