#86 · Monday, 2 March 2026

Ladder answer

• FRONT 5 letters
• FORTUNE 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• FORTUNATE 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

FRONT sits inside FORTUNE, which sits inside FORTUNATE — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: RTONF · TUNFROE · AUREOTFTN.

LockCode answer: 3792

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 3729 has every digit of the code — only the order is wrong.
2. 0854 scored nothing, so 0, 8, 5, 4 are all out.
3. 6504 scored nothing, so 6, 5, 0, 4 are all out.
4. 8713: 1 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 2 of 8, 7, 1, 3 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 2 codes remain possible.

With 2 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.