Get better at PaneSlide
39 short, original guides written by the PaneSlide team: the rules, the strategy, and every special kind of glass, with diagrams drawn from the real game.
Start here
Glide and stick: the two rules behind every move
Every PaneSlide swipe follows two rules. Learn exactly where a pane glides, what makes it stop, and why it sticks on new colour, with diagrams.
Colour mixing: why cyan and yellow make green
Why does cyan glass over yellow glass look green? A clear guide to subtractive and additive colour mixing, filters, printer inks and screens, and how PaneSlide mixes its glass.
Par, stars and perfect solves: how scoring works
What par means in PaneSlide, how many swipes earn three stars, what a perfect solve is, and what stars and shards are for. The exact rules, explained simply.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to common PaneSlide questions: is it free, does it work offline, where progress is saved, how to move to a new phone, colour-blind support, keyboard play and more.
Strategy
Plan your swipes: move order and working backwards
A practical PaneSlide strategy guide. Read the target picture, find which pane goes where, build stoppers first, and solve in par more often.
Reading the target picture: decode the colours
The small picture in PaneSlide tells you more than it seems. Learn to decode each colour, find where every pane must end, and spot the clues that crack a puzzle.
Undo, hints and getting unstuck
Stuck on a PaneSlide puzzle? How undo and hints work, what the "Stuck!" tip means, when to restart, and a calm routine for any puzzle that has you beaten.
Seven beginner mistakes, and what to do instead
New to PaneSlide? These are the seven most common habits that cost swipes and stars, from swiping before reading the picture to moving panes that are already right, with a simple fix for each.
Advanced strategy: think like the solver
Advanced PaneSlide strategy for experienced players: counting the swipes each pane needs, building stoppers, using sticking as a brake, the "one swipe per pane" check, and how special cells change the plan.
How PaneSlide puzzles are made
Behind the scenes of PaneSlide levels: how a seeded generator builds every puzzle, why each level has exactly one answer, how par is proven to be the minimum, and what the "aha" and boss checks do.
Every kind of glass
Locked glass: the pane that never moves
Locked glass arrives at level 12 in PaneSlide. It never moves, but it shapes every swipe around it. Learn how it blocks, how other glass sticks on it, and how to use it as a stopper.
Two-colour puzzles: thinking with fewer colours
From level 18, some PaneSlide pictures use only two of the three glass colours. Learn why fewer colours can be harder, and how to read duo pictures quickly.
Stone pillars: walls in the middle of the window
Stone pillars arrive at level 25 in PaneSlide. They block every pane like the edge of the board. Learn how they split rails, create stopping points and simplify the picture.
Gems: bonus shards on the best route
Gems appear at level 33 in PaneSlide. Slide glass over a gem to collect it for a bonus shard. Learn how gems work, where they sit, and how to collect every one in par.
Ice: where glass never sticks
Ice cells arrive at level 42 in PaneSlide. Glass that crosses other glass on ice does not stick; it keeps gliding. Learn the exact rule and how to plan long slides.
Sand: cells that stop sliding glass
Sand arrives at level 52 in PaneSlide. Glass stops as soon as it slides onto more sand. Learn the exact rule, how sand creates mid-board stops, and how it combines with ice.
One-way glass: no going back
One-way glass arrives at level 64 in PaneSlide. It only glides the way its arrow points, so every swipe is permanent. Learn how to plan the order of one-way moves.
Frosted glass: colour you have to uncover
Frosted glass arrives at level 78 in PaneSlide. It hides its colour until you move it. Learn how to work out what a frosted pane must be, and which one to move first.
Mystery pictures: the target that reveals itself
Mystery pictures arrive at level 95 in PaneSlide. Part of the target is hidden behind question marks and appears as you swipe. Learn how the reveal works and how to solve with less information.
Chapter by chapter
Sunroom and Greenhouse: tips for levels 1 to 40
A chapter guide to PaneSlide levels 1 to 40: what each level teaches, when locked glass, two-colour pictures, stone pillars and gems arrive, and how to beat the first two bosses.
Lighthouse and Tea Garden: tips for levels 41 to 80
Chapter tips for PaneSlide levels 41 to 80: how ice, sand, one-way glass and frosted glass change your plans, what the bosses at levels 60 and 80 mix together, and how to stay calm on 5×5 boards.
Lantern Market and Lavender Loft: tips for levels 81 to 120
Chapter tips for PaneSlide levels 81 to 120: mystery pictures arrive at level 95, frosted glass and one-way glass return, and every board is now 5×5. How to plan when you cannot see everything.
Desert Dunes, Snow Cabin and the endless chapters
Tips for PaneSlide levels 121 to 160 and beyond: how the later chapters mix every kind of glass, how the eight scenes repeat as Sunroom II and onwards, and how par levels off around 8.
Boss levels: restoring each stained-glass window
How PaneSlide boss levels work: one every 20 levels, what they mix together, the shards and window they give, and a calm step-by-step plan for beating them without spoilers.
Colour and light
Primary colours: RYB, RGB and CMY
Why do art classes teach red, yellow and blue, screens use red, green and blue, and printers and PaneSlide use cyan, magenta and yellow? A short history of primary colours from Newton to colour printing.
Why is glass coloured?
What makes glass blue, green, red or purple? A plain guide to how coloured glass absorbs light, the metals glassmakers use (cobalt, copper, gold, iron, manganese and more), and how this links to PaneSlide.
A short history of stained glass
How stained glass developed, from a 4th-century Roman cup and the oldest surviving church windows to Chartres, the Sainte-Chapelle, silver stain, and Tiffany's copper foil lamps, plus how a window is actually made.
How we see colour, and playing with colour blindness
How the eye sees colour with three kinds of cone cell, what colour vision deficiency is and how common it is, and how PaneSlide's Patterns setting and colour names make the game playable for everyone.
Play anywhere
Install PaneSlide, play offline, and keep your progress safe
How to add PaneSlide to your home screen on Android, iPhone, iPad and desktop, how offline play works, where your progress is stored, and how to use a progress code to move to a new device.
Playing on a laptop or desktop: keyboard and mouse
All PaneSlide keyboard shortcuts (number keys, arrows, WASD, Enter, Z, H, M, Esc), how mouse dragging and hover work, and what the wider desktop layout shows on laptops, desktops and tablets.
Accessibility in PaneSlide
Every accessibility feature in PaneSlide: colour patterns for colour vision deficiency, full keyboard play, screen reader labels, reduced motion, sound, music and vibration switches, no timers, and readable guides.
Puzzle world
Puzzle types compared: where PaneSlide fits
How PaneSlide compares with other classic logic puzzles: Sokoban's pushing boxes, Sudoku's number placement and nonograms' hidden pictures. What each asks of you, a little history, and which skills carry over.
Glide puzzles: when pieces slide until they stop
Why "slide until you hit something" makes such good puzzles: the idea behind ice-floor puzzles in video games, the board game Ricochet Robots, and PaneSlide's glide and stick rules, with tips that work across all of them.
Puzzles and you
The daily puzzle: one window a day
How the PaneSlide daily puzzle works: a new puzzle at midnight, harder through the week, streaks, spoiler-free sharing, and replaying past days in the archive.
Puzzles as a calm break: an honest look
Can a puzzle game be a healthy break? What reputable sources like the NHS actually say about learning and attention, what they don't say, and how PaneSlide is designed to stay calm.
A short history of sliding puzzles
From the 1880 "15 puzzle" craze to Klotski, Huarong Dao and Rush Hour: how sliding puzzles developed, the maths behind them, and where PaneSlide's glass fits in.
Shards, daily gifts and the Shop
How to earn shards in PaneSlide (stars, perfect solves, gems, bosses, badges, dailies and gifts), how the seven-day gift works, and what the Shop sells: hints, board skins and music moods, with every price.
The House, ranks and badges
PaneSlide's long-term goals explained: restoring a stained-glass window for each chapter in the House, the eleven ranks from Glass Spark to PaneSlide Legend, and all twelve badges with what they need.
PaneSlide glossary
A plain-language A to Z of PaneSlide terms: aha level, boss, breather, cyan, frosted glass, glide, par, perfect, rail, shards, stick, and more, each with a link to the guide that explains it in depth.