#65 · Monday, 9 February 2026

Ladder answer

• NOISE 5 letters
• VERSION 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• OBSERVING 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

NOISE sits inside VERSION, which sits inside OBSERVING — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: ISNEO · ORESIVN · IRSVNBGOE.

LockCode answer: 0168

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 5164: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 5, 1, 6, 4 are in the code.
2. 1780: 0 in the right place, 3 in the wrong place — 3 of 1, 7, 8, 0 are in the code.
3. 3645: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 3, 6, 4, 5 are in the code.
4. 7923 scored nothing, so 7, 9, 2, 3 are all out.
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.