Payoff

In any game, payoffs are numbers which represent the motivations of players. Payoffs may represent profit, quantity, “utility,” or other continuous measures (cardinal payoffs).

In all cases, the payoffs must reflect the motivations of the particular player.

Source: Shor, Mikhael, “Payoff,” Dictionary of Game Theory Terms, Game Theory .net, http://www.gametheory.net/dictionary/Payoff.html