How to play PaneSlide
Everything in one place: the basic rules, all nine kinds of special glass, stars, rewards and settings.
The goal
Each puzzle has a board of coloured glass panes and a small target picture. Slide the panes until the board matches the picture exactly. That's it. There's no timer, and every solve earns at least one star.
The three rules
1. Every pane has a rail
A pane with ↔ moves only left and right. A pane with ↕ moves only up and down. Panes never turn and never leave their row or column.
2. Swipe, and the glass glides
Swipe a pane (or select it and press an arrow key) and it glides as far as it can. It stops when it reaches:
- the edge of the board;
- a pane on the same kind of rail (↔ panes can't overlap other ↔ panes, and ↕ can't overlap ↕);
- a stone pillar (from level 25);
- or it sticks, see rule 3.
3. Glass sticks on new colour
Panes on crossing rails can overlap. A gliding pane stops the moment it slides onto glass it wasn't already overlapping. Sliding off glass never stops it. This is how you park a pane in the middle of the board: put a crossing pane in its way first.
More detail and examples: how panes move.
Colours mix like real filters
Where panes overlap, their colours combine:
- cyan + magenta = blue
- cyan + yellow = green
- magenta + yellow = red
- all three = black
So a blue cell in the picture needs a cyan pane and a magenta pane there, one on each kind of rail. Read why in colour mixing, and how to use it in reading the target picture.
Par and stars
Par is the fewest swipes that solve the puzzle, proven by a computer search. Each puzzle has only one correct arrangement.
- ★★★ par or par + 1 (exactly par if par is 1 or 2)
- ★★ a few swipes more
- ★ any solve
- ✨ Perfect: exactly par
Undo takes back a swipe but still counts it. Blocked swipes, where nothing moves, are free. See par, stars and perfect solves.
Special glass and cells
Levels mode introduces nine special kinds, one at a time. Each one is taught on its own level with a short tip, then returns in later chapters. A level never mixes more than two (three only on rare challenge levels after level 100).
🔒 Locked glass (level 12)
Never moves. It still blocks same-rail panes, and crossing glass sticks on it. Guide
🎨 Two colours (level 18)
The picture uses just two of the three colours, so there's only one possible mix. Guide
🧱 Stone pillars (level 25)
Block every pane like the board's edge. No glass can sit on them. Guide
💎 Gems (level 33)
Slide any glass over a gem to collect it for a bonus shard. Gems sit along the shortest route. Guide
❄️ Ice (level 42)
Overlaps on ice don't count, so glass crossing other glass on ice keeps gliding instead of sticking. Guide
🏖️ Sand (level 52)
Glass stops as soon as it slides onto more sand. Sliding off sand doesn't stop it. Guide
➡️ One-way glass (level 64)
Glides only the way its single arrow points. Plan the stopper first. Guide
🌫️ Frosted glass (level 78)
Hides its colour until you move it. Frosted panes always need to move, and the picture shows the true colours. Guide
❓ Mystery pictures (level 95)
Part of the target shows ? at first. Every swipe reveals more, and the whole picture is visible after par − 1 swipes. Guide
Levels, chapters and bosses
Levels are grouped into chapters of 20, each with its own scene, such as the Sunroom, Greenhouse and Lighthouse. The last level of each chapter is a boss: a bigger puzzle that restores a stained-glass window in your Glass House. As you progress you earn ranks, from Glass Spark at level 5 to PaneSlide Legend at level 500.
The daily puzzle
A new puzzle every day at midnight (your device's time), the same for everyone. Monday is gentlest; the weekend is hardest. Solve on consecutive days to build a streak, and share a spoiler-free result. Missed days can be played as practice in the archive. More in the daily puzzle guide.
Hints and getting unstuck
- Undo steps back one swipe at a time.
- Hints (Levels mode only) show the next best swipe from where you are. They never cost stars. You start with 3 and can hold 5.
- "Stuck! Undo" appears when a swipe has made the picture impossible.
- Restart (Levels mode) puts every pane back and resets the count.
See undo, hints and getting unstuck.
Shards and rewards
Shards are earned only by playing, never bought:
| How | Shards |
|---|---|
| Each new star on a level | 2 |
| First perfect solve of a level | 3 |
| Each gem | 1 |
| Beating a boss | 15 |
| First daily solve each day | 5 |
| Each badge | 10 |
There's also a daily gift that grows across a 7-day week, and a free hint at level 5 and every 10 levels after. Spend shards in the shop on hints, new board styles (Oak, Mint, Rose, Midnight) and music moods (Rain, Music box).
Settings
Open Settings (the gear) for:
- Music, Sound and Buzz (vibration) switches, and a music volume slider;
- Patterns: a texture for each glass colour, for colour-blind players or anyone who prefers it;
- Progress code: copy your progress to keep it safe, or load it on another device;
- Install app, where your browser supports it.
Your progress is stored only on your device. See the privacy policy.
Keyboard and screen readers
Press Tab to move between panes, and the arrow keys to slide the selected one. Each pane has a spoken label with its colour and the directions it slides.