Shards are PaneSlide's small reward currency. You earn them by playing well and coming back, and you spend them in the Shop on hints, board skins and music. There is no way to buy shards with money, and nothing in the Shop changes how puzzles work. This guide lists every way to earn them and every item you can buy.
How to earn shards
| How | Shards |
|---|---|
| Each new star on a level | 2 per star |
| Your first perfect solve of a level | 3 |
| Each new gem collected | 1 |
| Beating a boss for the first time | 15 |
| Earning a badge | 10 |
| Solving the daily puzzle | 5 (once per day) |
| Opening the daily gift | 5 to 30 (see below) |
A few details:
- New stars only. If you solved a level with two stars and later get three, you earn 2 shards for the extra star. Replaying for the same stars earns nothing more, so shards always reflect real progress.
- Perfect means solving in exactly par swipes, the proven minimum.
- Gems are collected when glass slides over them. Each gem only counts once.
- Daily shards are given once for each day's puzzle, when you solve it on its own day. Archive puzzles are for practice and do not give shards or change your streak. See the daily puzzle guide.
Your shard total is shown in the top bar while you play.
The daily gift
Once a day you can open a gift from the home screen. The gifts follow a seven-day cycle:
| Day | Gift |
|---|---|
| 1 | 5 shards |
| 2 | 5 shards |
| 3 | 10 shards |
| 4 | 10 shards |
| 5 | 15 shards |
| 6 | 15 shards |
| 7 | 30 shards and a free hint |
Day 7's hint is added if you have room (you can hold up to five hints). After day 7 the cycle starts again from day 1.
Missing a day. The cycle moves forward only on consecutive days. If you miss a day, the next gift is day 1 again, and the game says "Welcome back! A fresh week starts today." Nothing you already earned is lost. A "day" follows your device's local date.
Opening the gift seven days running also earns the Week of glass badge, worth another 10 shards.
The Shop
Open the Shop from the home screen. Prices are in shards.
Hints
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| One hint | 15 |
A hint shows the next best swipe on a shortest route. Hints never cost stars in Levels mode. You can hold up to five, and you also receive free hints at milestones (level 5 and every tenth level) and on gift day 7.
Board skins change the colour of the window frame around the board. They are purely cosmetic.
| Skin | Price |
|---|---|
| Classic | Free |
| Oak | 60 |
| Mint | 80 |
| Rose | 80 |
| Midnight | 120 |
Music moods change the style of the gentle background music.
| Mood | Price |
|---|---|
| Café | Free |
| Rain | 60 |
| Music box | 90 |
Once you own a skin or mood, you can switch between it and any other you own at any time, for free.
How to spend shards wisely
- Save a few hints for bosses and challenges. That is where a single hint saves the most time.
- Treat skins as a reward. Many players save up for Midnight after finishing a chapter or two. Its dark frame makes the colours stand out, a bit like lead lines in a stained-glass window.
- Do not worry about running out. Playing levels and the daily puzzle earns a steady stream, and badges add bonuses along the way.
Things shards cannot do
- They cannot skip a level or unlock levels early. Levels unlock by solving the one before.
- They cannot buy stars. Stars come only from your number of swipes.
- They cannot be bought with real money. PaneSlide has no in-app purchases.
Shards live with the rest of your progress in your browser. A progress code (in Settings) carries them to another device. See install, offline and progress.