#45 · Tuesday, 20 January 2026

Ladder answer

• TREAT 5 letters
• PATTERN 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• APARTMENT 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

TREAT sits inside PATTERN, which sits inside APARTMENT — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: EATTR · RTPNTEA · NEMAPRATT.

LockCode answer: 8096

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 6908 has every digit of the code — only the order is wrong.
2. 1903: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 1, 9, 0, 3 are in the code.
3. 7912: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 7, 9, 1, 2 are in the code.
4. 3126: 1 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 1 of 3, 1, 2, 6 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 3 codes remain possible.

With 3 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.