#63 · Saturday, 7 February 2026

Ladder answer

• COUNT 5 letters
• AUCTION 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• TENACIOUS 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

COUNT sits inside AUCTION, which sits inside TENACIOUS — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: NCOUT · NTOAUIC · CUEIANSOT.

LockCode answer: 5371

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 5347: 2 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 3 of 5, 3, 4, 7 are in the code.
2. 2750: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 2, 7, 5, 0 are in the code.
3. 9725: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 9, 7, 2, 5 are in the code.
4. 8435: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 8, 4, 3, 5 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 6 codes remain possible.

With 6 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.