New to PaneSlide, or just want a quick reminder? This glossary explains every term used in the game and the guides, in plain words, with links to the full guides.
A to C
Aha level. A level built so that the most obvious move is not the best one. Levels ending in 4 and 9 (from level 7), and also 7 (from level 40), are aha levels. The game checks that a player who always makes the move that fixes the most cells right now cannot reach par. See advanced strategy.
Archive. A calendar of every past daily puzzle, for practice. Archive puzzles do not change your streak or give shards. See the daily puzzle guide.
Badge. One of twelve achievements, each worth 10 shards. See the House, ranks and badges.
Black. The colour of a cell where all three glass colours overlap.
Boss. Every 20th level. It mixes the chapter's main mechanics, and beating it restores the chapter's window in the House. See boss levels.
Breather. A gentler level that gives you a rest between harder ones. Levels ending in 1 and 6, from level 11, are breathers.
Chapter. A group of 20 levels set in a room, such as the Sunroom or Greenhouse, ending with a boss. See Sunroom and Greenhouse.
Challenge. A tougher level marked with a trophy on the map. Levels ending in 9 are challenges.
CMY. Short for cyan, magenta and yellow, the three glass colours. See primary colours.
Cyan. A blue-green glass colour. It takes away red light.
D to G
Daily puzzle. One new puzzle for everyone each day, a little harder through the week. From 30 October 2026, dailies use the same glide rules as levels.
Duo, or two-colour picture. A level whose picture uses only two of the three glass colours. Introduced at level 18. See two-colour puzzles.
Frosted glass. A pane that hides its colour until it moves. Introduced at level 78. See frosted glass.
Gem. A bonus item on some cells. Slide glass over it to collect a shard. Gems never affect stars. Introduced at level 33. See gems.
Gift. A daily reward on a seven-day cycle, from 5 to 30 shards. See shards, gifts and the Shop.
Glide. How panes move. You choose a direction and the pane keeps going until something stops it. See glide and stick.
H to M
Hint. Shows the next best swipe on a shortest route. In Levels mode, hints never cost stars. You can hold up to five. See undo, hints and getting unstuck.
House. The place where your restored stained-glass windows are kept, one per chapter, each with 20 pieces.
Ice. A cell where glass never sticks, so it keeps gliding. Introduced at level 42. See ice cells.
Locked glass. A pane that never moves. It is useful as a stopper. Introduced at level 12. See locked glass.
Magenta. A pink-purple glass colour. It takes away green light.
Mechanic. Any special kind of glass or cell: locked glass, two-colour pictures, pillars, gems, ice, sand, one-way glass, frosted glass and mystery pictures.
Milestone. Level 5 and every tenth level. Milestones can give a free hint.
Mix. The colour where panes overlap: cyan + magenta make blue, cyan + yellow make green, magenta + yellow make red, all three make black. See colour mixing.
Mystery picture. A level where part of the target picture is hidden at first and revealed as you swipe. Introduced at level 95. See mystery pictures.
O to R
One-way glass. A pane that can only glide in the direction of its arrow. Introduced at level 64. See one-way glass.
Par. The smallest possible number of swipes to solve a puzzle, proven by a full search. See par and stars.
Patterns. A setting that adds a texture to each glass colour, for players who see colour differently. See accessibility.
Perfect. Solving a puzzle in exactly par swipes.
Pillar, or stone pillar. A fixed block that glass cannot pass. Introduced at level 25. See stone pillars.
Progress code. A code in Settings that copies all your progress, so you can move it to another device. See install, offline and progress.
Rail. The row or column a pane moves along. A ↔ pane moves left and right along its row; a ↕ pane moves up and down its column.
Rank. A title based on how many levels you have cleared, from Glass Spark (5) to PaneSlide Legend (500).
S to Z
Sand. A cell that stops glass as soon as it slides onto it. Introduced at level 52. See sand cells.
Shards. The game's reward currency, earned by playing and spent in the Shop on hints, skins and music moods. They cannot be bought with money.
Skin. A cosmetic colour for the board's frame, bought in the Shop.
Stars. One to three per level, based on swipes. Three stars need par or par + 1 (exactly par when par is 1 or 2).
Stick. When a gliding pane slides onto a cell where it overlaps more crossing glass than before, it stops right there. This does not happen on ice.
Streak. The number of days in a row you have solved the daily puzzle on its own day.
Swipe. One move: a pane glides in one direction. Undo does not give a swipe back.
Target picture. The small picture showing how the finished window must look.
Teach level. The level that introduces a new mechanic, with a short explanation.
Undo. Takes back your last swipe, but the swipe still counts towards your total.
Yellow. A glass colour that takes away blue light.
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