#90 · Friday, 6 March 2026

Ladder answer

• EARLY 5 letters
• REALITY 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• PRIVATELY 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

EARLY sits inside REALITY, which sits inside PRIVATELY — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: YLERA · ELTRYIA · EPRAILYVT.

LockCode answer: 3245

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 3452 has every digit of the code — only the order is wrong.
2. 0176 scored nothing, so 0, 1, 7, 6 are all out.
3. 7081 scored nothing, so 7, 0, 8, 1 are all out.
4. 8631: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 8, 6, 3, 1 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 6 codes remain possible.

With 6 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.