Wiktionary
vb. (context transitive English) To play (a game etc.) to its conclusion.
WordNet
v. deplete; "exhaust one's savings"; "We quickly played out our strength" [syn: run down, exhaust, sap, tire]
perform or be performed to the end; "How will the election drama be played out?"
play to a finish; "We have got to play this game out, even thought it is clear that we have last"
become spent or exhausted; "The champion's strength played out fast"
Usage examples of "play out".
There's no telling how this entire Centauri situation is going to play out.
A one-man band can play out of tune, and creativity is easily extinguished when a team isn’.
He had abandoned them finally to their own savage ends and gone on to other worlds, to play out the purposes of a wider range.
I went into the room, found it softly lighted with only the dressing-table lamps, and stood there for a moment, just breathing in the perfume and wondering how long I could play out this spectacular hand.
You also play out the eternal dynamic between masculine and feminine.
By letting Priesly play out his gambit and hoping he wouldn't bother Chandler himself in the process.
His grandfather had expected the mine to play out in his own lifetime, and had neglected its safety accordingly, and it had taken Daulo's father nearly ten years to reverse the deterioration that had ensued.
And even though Demora is out of the game, I still have a few hands I'm going to play out.
Thus have I risen to play out the part of dispensing my minions, to destroy all creation in a span of millions of years, and when all has been undone, I will stand in the nothingness and undo myself.
As usual they let me play out my pathetic expression as they scowled with irritation.
So in the case of chaos cults, the Bureau tries covertly to let the game play out with minimum destruction.
I'm not sure how that last part will play out in Venice in this day and age, but I know the first two are strikes against her.