Field note · Rules

Reading a pay table

Multiples of the stake, runs through the centre reel, ways that multiply, and what a return below 1× means.

Every pay is a multiple of the stake

All six pay tables on Thornhallow use the same unit: a multiple of the stake you chose for that round. A return of 2× on a 50-dew stake gives 100 dew back. A return of 0.5× gives 25 back, which is less than you staked. The result line under each game spells this out after every round, for example: Stake 50 dew → 25 back (−25).

That last part matters. A result can be a pay and still be smaller than the stake. We never celebrate those as wins; the line simply shows the net change.

Heartwood: runs through the centre

Heartwood reads fifteen fixed lines, but a run only counts if it passes through reel 3. On each line the game finds the longest stretch of one picture, with heartwood rings standing in, that includes the centre cell, and pays the table value for three, four or five in that stretch. Each line pays only its best run.

Briar Climb: ways multiply

In Briar Climb a picture pays when it shows on reel 1 and on each following reel without a gap. Every copy counts, so the number of ways is the product of the copies on each reel: two, then three, then one makes six ways. The table shows the pay for one way, which is why its numbers are small; the game multiplies them by the ways.

Cards and dice

Ninefold returns a fixed multiple for each call. Thorn Pyramid pays by how many pyramid cards you cleared. Moth Muster pays by parts in place, with a column for each length. Fifty Thorns pays by your final score. Moth Muster and Fifty Thorns also print the exact chance of every result on their pages.

What a pay table does not tell you

A pay table tells you what each result returns, not how often it comes. Big multiples sit next to rare results. Over many rounds every game here gives back a little less dew than it takes, which is how a game of chance works, and why dew is not something to chase.

Written by the Thornhallow team · last checked 11 November 2026