#96 · Thursday, 12 March 2026

Ladder answer

• TRAIN 5 letters
• CERTAIN 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• INTERFACE 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

TRAIN sits inside CERTAIN, which sits inside INTERFACE — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: INRAT · RINETAC · FEIETRNAC.

LockCode answer: 4698

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 1608: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 1, 6, 0, 8 are in the code.
2. 9068: 1 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 3 of 9, 0, 6, 8 are in the code.
3. 7254: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 7, 2, 5, 4 are in the code.
4. 9427: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 9, 4, 2, 7 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.