Almost every guide about this game assumes you already know how to play it. They talk about openings, tier lists, and comeback theory as if the basic rules were obvious. They are not. Panel de Pon has one of the widest gaps in all of puzzle gaming between “looks simple” and “actually knows what is happening on screen.” This guide closes that gap. No history, no meta — just the rules, the three controls, and a hands-on walkthrough of building your very first chain. If you have never touched the game, start here.

The One-Sentence Rule

Here is the entire game in a single sentence: line up three or more panels of the same color, in a row or a column, and they vanish — while the whole stack slowly rises from the bottom, and you lose if it reaches the top. Everything else is detail. You are not stacking pieces like Tetris and you are not dropping them like Puyo Puyo. The panels are already on the board. Your job is to rearrange what is there fast enough to keep clearing matches before the rising stack buries you.

There are two ways to play. In Endless (and its scoring cousins) you survive and rack up points for as long as you can. In Versus, clearing panels dumps “garbage” blocks onto your opponent’s board, and the first player buried loses. The rules of movement are identical in both — Versus just adds a target. If you want the full backstory of where this game came from, the complete history of Panel de Pon covers it, but you do not need any of it to start playing.

The Controls: There Are Only Three

This is the part that surprises newcomers. A game this deep uses almost nothing:

1. Move the cursor. The d-pad or stick moves a cursor that is shaped like a 1×2 box — it always highlights two side-by-side panels at once. That shape matters, because of what the next button does.

2. Swap. One button (usually A) swaps the two panels under the cursor — the left one goes right, the right one goes left. That is the only way you move panels. You cannot pick a panel up and carry it across the board. Every board state you want has to be built out of hundreds of tiny horizontal swaps.

3. Raise. A second button (often a shoulder button or L/R) forces the stack to rise faster, on demand. Beginners ignore this button; good players use it constantly to control tempo. For now, just know it exists.

That is the whole control scheme. If you are playing on a computer through the open-source client, you can rebind these, and it is worth thinking carefully about which keys do what — the community has strong opinions on how fast, clean inputs win the opening.

Three Rules That Trip Up Every Beginner

Once you understand the swap, three consequences follow that are not obvious from watching:

You can swap a panel into empty space

If the cursor covers a panel on the left and an empty gap on the right, swapping “moves” the panel into the gap — and if there is nothing below it, it falls. This is how you shuffle a stray panel across a row: swap, swap, swap, sliding it one column at a time until it drops where you want it.

You can swap underneath falling panels

Panels do not teleport when they fall — they take a fraction of a second to drop and settle. During that window you can slide another panel underneath a falling one to catch it in a new position. This “block sliding” is not a trick you need on day one, but it is the mechanical heart of advanced play, and it is worth knowing it exists. When you are ready, the deep dive on mid-fall swaps that catch blocks unlocks a whole layer of the game.

You must clear near the bottom while the top keeps rising

The stack grows upward from the floor, but your matches usually need to happen lower down where you have room to arrange things. New players fixate on the danger line at the top and panic. The habit to build instead: keep your eyes low, keep the bottom rows organized, and let the rise take care of itself. A tidy bottom is a safe top.

Combos vs Chains: The Idea That Makes the Game Deep

Everything above gets you clearing panels. The difference between a casual player and someone who actually understands Panel de Pon comes down to two words that sound similar and mean very different things.

A combo is clearing four or more panels in a single moment — one swap that pops a big group at once. Combos are about width.

A chain is a clear that causes another clear. You match three panels; they vanish; the panels above them fall down; and those falling panels land in a new match-of-three all on their own, with no extra input from you. That second clear is worth far more than the first, and if you set it up right, a third and fourth follow automatically. Chains are about time and setup, not speed. They are the single most important skill in the game, which is why an entire mechanics guide to chains and combos exists just to unpack them.

Build Your First Chain, Step by Step

Let us make a 2-chain happen on purpose. Load Endless mode, and if your version allows it, slow the rise speed to the lowest setting so you have time to think. Then set up this simple shape near the bottom of the board.

Picture two colors, red and blue. On the bottom row, arrange three reds sitting side by side so they are one swap away from matching. One row up and offset, place two blues stacked directly above where a red currently sits, with a third blue waiting just to the side. The plan: when the three reds clear, the blue sitting on top of them has nothing to hold it up, so it falls one row — landing next to the other two blues and completing a second match by itself.

Now execute: make the swap that completes the red match. Watch closely. The reds pop, the board shifts down, the lone blue drops into place, and a “chain x2” flashes on screen. You did not touch the blues — gravity did. That is a chain. Congratulations; you now understand the thing the entire competitive scene is built on.

The timing has a name — the chain window — and it is the gap of time during which a falling panel still counts as part of the same chain. Learning to feel that window is what lets players extend a 2-chain into a 3, 4, or higher. When you want to grow these deliberately, the guide to building big chains with the stairstep is your next stop.

How to Practice So It Actually Sticks

Do not jump into Versus yet. Spend your first sessions in Endless with the rise slowed down, and drill three things in order. First, get comfortable moving the cursor and swapping until it stops feeling clumsy. Second, set up the red-blue 2-chain above until you can build it without thinking. Third, try to make it a 3-chain by adding one more waiting panel above the second match. Once those feel natural, you are ready for a structured plan — the absolute beginner’s first ten hours lays out exactly what to practice and in what order.

The single biggest beginner mistake is rushing. This game rewards calm arrangement far more than fast hands, especially early. Keep the bottom tidy, set up one chain at a time, and let the board do the work. Speed comes on its own once the patterns live in your fingers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What button actually clears the panels?

No button clears them directly. You clear panels by using the swap button to line up three or more of the same color in a row or column. The match then clears automatically. The only inputs are move, swap, and raise.

Can I move a panel anywhere on the board?

No. You can only swap two horizontally adjacent panels — left becomes right and right becomes left. To move a panel across the board you slide it one column at a time with repeated swaps. You can never move a panel vertically by hand; only gravity moves panels down.

What is the difference between a combo and a chain?

A combo clears four or more panels in a single swap. A chain is when one clear causes panels to fall and form a second clear automatically. Chains are worth much more and are the core skill of the game.

Is Panel de Pon the same game as Tetris Attack?

Mechanically, yes. Tetris Attack, Pokémon Puzzle League, and Panel de Pon are the same core game with different characters and presentation. The rules and controls in this guide apply to all of them.

Which version should a complete beginner start with?

Any of them teaches the same skills, but many newcomers start with the free open-source Panel Attack client on PC or with Pokémon Puzzle League. Whatever you have easiest access to is the right one — the mechanics transfer completely.