Wiktionary
vb. (context idiomatic English) To deceive, to lie about one's intentions
Usage examples of "play games".
But Swan thought he was an all-right guy, and I liked Swan as much as I could like anybody who worked for somebody who was trying to play games with me.
You want to play games, you go to some combat outfit and stay a second lieutenant all your life.
Allowing the Child to act out its own instinctual impulses, and play games at random in the treatment group is a waste of the group's time and invasion of the rights and purposes of each individual group member, If permitted to continue, it sabotages the therapeutic contract of Transactional Analysis.
She didn't play games by wearing slinky nightgowns and then pretending to be embarrassed by what was revealed, but she didn't have to.