How to play Pitwick: The Deep Seam

Choose your miner

• Bryn Cole, the Hewer, holds the line. Props let your Guard carry over from turn to turn, Grit adds damage to every hit, and big picks finish fights.
• Tamsin Vell, the Shotfirer, sets Charges on foes that explode at the start of your next turn, fills rooms with Gas, and burns lamp oil for power.
• Both start with ten basic cards and earn thirty more of their own as they play. A few neutral cards turn up for either.

The map

• Each act is a branching map of chambers. Pick one per row: the one below you or a neighbour. Flooded chambers are shut, and shown from the start.
• Fights and Elites hold foes. Elites are tougher and always leave a trinket, an item that helps for the rest of the run.
• Lamp rooms let you Mend (heal), Hone (upgrade a card) or Refill your lamp. Carts sell cards, trinkets and oil for ore, and will take a card off your hands.
• Seams give ore or a trinket. Finds are short events with a choice; every button tells you exactly what it costs.
• The last row of every act is the Pit Bottom: rest and shop in one place before the boss.

Fighting

• Each turn you get 3 energy and draw 5 cards. Tap a card, then tap a foe. Cards that do not need a target play with a second tap.
• Every foe shows exactly what it will do next: the number on the badge is the damage you will take before your Guard.
• Guard soaks up damage and is lost at the start of your next turn, unless you have Props.
• Crack makes a foe take 50% more damage. Daze makes it deal 25% less. Gas hurts at the start of its turn and goes down by 1 each time.
• Once cards leave your deck for the rest of the fight. Gear cards are played once and last the whole fight. Keep cards stay in your hand.

Oil and the dark

Your lamp burns a little oil on every turn of a fight after the first. Run dry and you are in the dark: every foe gets stronger each turn until you refill. Long, careful fights are safe now but cost you later, so finish fights when you can and refill at lamp rooms and carts.

Depths, unlocks and the Daily Descent

• Win a run to unlock the next Depth for that miner, up to Depth 10. Each Depth adds one more twist and multiplies your score.
• Every run earns Seam marks from its score. Marks unlock more cards for each miner and more trinkets for both.
• The Daily Descent is one seeded run a day, the same for everyone, with a fixed miner and a daily twist. Your first finished run goes on the leaderboard; a new one opens at midnight UK time.

Scoring

You score for every chamber cleared, extra for elites and bosses, a little for the ore you earn, and a big bonus for reaching daylight with health and oil to spare. Higher Depths multiply it.

Tips

• Remove your weakest basic cards at carts: a smaller deck draws your best cards more often.
• Read the intents. On a turn when nothing is attacking, play everything that hits or sets up.
• Shotfirer: a Charge placed this turn goes off at the start of your next one, so place it before a foe turn you can survive.
• Hewer: a few Props early in a fight turn every spare Guard card into a wall.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a run take?

Thirty minutes to an hour. Every move is saved, so you can close the page and carry on later.

Can I play on my phone?

Yes. It is made for phones first and also plays well with a mouse and keyboard.

Is it related to Pitwick?

Yes. Pitwick is the short daily run; The Deep Seam is the full game below it.

Is it free?

Yes, free and in your browser, no account needed.