#85 · Sunday, 1 March 2026

Ladder answer

• ROUND 5 letters
• FOUNDER 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• UNIFORMED 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

ROUND sits inside FOUNDER, which sits inside UNIFORMED — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: RNDOU · ONRDEUF · NDMEUIOFR.

LockCode answer: 7560

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 0563: 2 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 3 of 0, 5, 6, 3 are in the code.
2. 3159: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 3, 1, 5, 9 are in the code.
3. 1906: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 1, 9, 0, 6 are in the code.
4. 3019: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 3, 0, 1, 9 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 8 codes remain possible.

With 8 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.