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Kode #95: hints & solution

Here's the clue board for Kode #95. Start with the spoiler-free hints. If you're still stuck, the full step-by-step solution is below, hidden until you open it.

The clue board

Each row is a guess that's already been graded. ▲ means a right digit in the right spot; ● means a right digit in the wrong spot.

  • 14195▲1●1
  • 24725▲0●1
  • 30482▲0●2
  • 47953▲0●0
  • 59640▲0●3

Spoiler-free hints

  • 3 of the four digits are even.
  • The four digits add up to 11.
  • Just one digit is 5 or higher.

Try the hints first. The solution below walks through every deduction.

Step-by-step solution

Every Kode can be cracked by pure deduction, with no guessing. This board falls in 9 logical steps. Open the solution to follow them one at a time.

Show the solution · reveals the code

When a row "rules out" a position, it shows that digit there but its ▲ marks are already used up (or it has none), so the digit can't sit there.

  1. Row 4 (7 9 5 3) has no marks at all, so 7, 9, 5, and 3 are not in the code.
  2. Row 1 (4 1 9 5) has 2 marks still unexplained, and only 2 digits are left undecided: 4 and 1. So both are in the code.
  3. Row 2 (4 7 2 5) has one mark, already accounted for by 4. That rules out 2.
  4. Row 5 (9 6 4 0) has 2 marks still unexplained, and only 2 digits are left undecided: 6 and 0. So both are in the code.
  5. Row 3 (0 4 8 2) has 2 marks, already accounted for by 0 and 4. That rules out 8.
  6. Row 1 (4 1 9 5) has one digit in the right spot. Since row 2 rules out the 4 in position 1, it has to be the 1 in position 2.
  7. The 0 has only one spot left: position 3 (row 3 rules out position 1, row 5 rules out position 4, and position 2 is already 1).
  8. The 4 has only one spot left: position 4 (row 2 rules out position 1, position 2 is already 1, and position 3 is already 0).
  9. That leaves the 6 for position 1.

That cracks it: the code is 6104.

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