Chapters 3 and 4, Lighthouse (levels 41 to 60) and Tea Garden (levels 61 to 80), are where PaneSlide stops being only about stoppers and starts changing how far glass moves. Four new ideas arrive: ice, sand, one-way glass and frosted glass. This guide gives tips for each, without full solutions.
What to expect
Almost all boards in these chapters are 5×5, with a few 4×4 breathers. Par usually sits between 5 and 8 swipes, and both bosses have a par of 7. The rhythm is the same as earlier chapters: breathers on levels ending in 1 and 6, "aha" levels ending in 4, 7 and 9, a trophy challenge on every level ending in 9, and a boss every 20th level.
New mechanics are introduced on a gentle level first, and then come back often over the next dozen levels so you can practise them.
Lighthouse: levels 41 to 60
Level 42: ice. Glass never sticks on ice. A pane crossing an ice cell keeps gliding even if it slides onto new colour there. In practice this means a crossing pane that would normally catch your glass does not catch it if their overlap would be on ice.
- Look at every ice cell and ask: which crossing pane would normally stop a glide here? That stop is gone.
- Ice does not stop a pane at the edge or at a pillar. Those still work.
- If a pane needs to stop on an ice cell, it needs a pillar, an edge, or a same-rail pane to bump into, because sticking cannot do it.
The ice guide has diagrams of each case.
Level 52: sand. Sand is the opposite of ice. A pane that slides onto sand stops right there. Sand is a free stopper that is always in place, which can make a level much easier once you spot it. The catch is that sand can also stop a pane too early. If a pane must pass a sand cell, it will not get past in a single swipe. Read the sand guide for the exact rule.
In the Lighthouse, ice and pillars appear together a lot. A good habit is to trace each pane's path from start to edge and mark where it would stop. With ice and pillars both on the board, that path is often surprising.
Level 60: the Lighthouse boss. It combines sand with stone pillars. Start with the panes whose path is short and fixed by a pillar or sand cell, because those swipes cannot go wrong.
Tea Garden: levels 61 to 80
Level 64: one-way glass. One-way glass only glides in the direction of its arrow. Once it has moved, it cannot come back. That makes order very important: if a one-way pane is the stopper for another pane, it must be in position at the right moment, and you cannot move it out of the way again. Before touching a one-way pane, ask whether any other pane needs it where it is now. The one-way glass guide explains common traps.
Level 78: frosted glass. Frosted glass hides its colour until you move it. The board shows a misty pane, but the target picture still shows the true colours. Use the picture to work out what the frosted pane must be, then check after the first swipe. The frosted glass guide shows how to reason about it.
Gems and ice come back often in the Tea Garden, and the boss at level 80 uses both. With ice, a pane can slide much further than usual, which is often the way to sweep across a row of gems in one swipe.
A routine for the hardest levels here
- Read the picture. Decide where every pane must finish.
- Mark the special cells. Ice cancels sticking, sand stops glass, pillars block, one-way arrows limit direction.
- Find a safe first swipe. A pane whose stopper is fixed (edge, pillar, sand, locked glass) is usually safe.
- Protect one-way panes. Move them only when nothing else needs them where they are.
- Use undo to test. Undo does not refund the swipe, so a test costs you, but it is better than guessing three times.
Tip. If a level suddenly feels much harder than the one before, check the level number. Levels ending in 9 are trophy challenges and are meant to be about one swipe harder.
Moving on
After level 80 you have met eight of the nine special mechanics. The next chapters, Lantern Market and Lavender Loft, add the last one, mystery pictures, and start mixing everything together.