#87 · Tuesday, 3 March 2026

Ladder answer

• CARGO 5 letters
• ORGANIC 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• IGNORANCE 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

CARGO sits inside ORGANIC, which sits inside IGNORANCE — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: RCOGA · GCRAINO · AEIRGNNCO.

LockCode answer: 2978

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 0279: 1 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 3 of 0, 2, 7, 9 are in the code.
2. 8921: 1 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 3 of 8, 9, 2, 1 are in the code.
3. 3815: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 3, 8, 1, 5 are in the code.
4. 1305 scored nothing, so 1, 3, 0, 5 are all out.
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.