#81 · Wednesday, 25 February 2026

Ladder answer

• THEIR 5 letters
• RICHEST 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• CHEMISTRY 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

THEIR sits inside RICHEST, which sits inside CHEMISTRY — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: RHITE · TRHIESC · HRCYTMISE.

LockCode answer: 8951

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 8756: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 8, 7, 5, 6 are in the code.
2. 6481: 1 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 2 of 6, 4, 8, 1 are in the code.
3. 8706: 1 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 1 of 8, 7, 0, 6 are in the code.
4. 6390: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 6, 3, 9, 0 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 4 codes remain possible.

With 4 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.