be not playing the game

To be not conforming or adhering to that which is established or generally accepted, such as rules, modes of behavior, etc. You might have some wild ideas for the future, but you'll never get anywhere in this business if you're not playing the game.

If someone is not playing the game, they are behaving in an unfair and unacceptable way. Civilized people shouldn't behave like this. It's just not playing the game. Compare with play the game. Note: This is a quotation from the Olympic Creed written by Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics, in 1896. The expression was then used by Sir Henry Newbolt in his poem `Vitaï Lampada' (1898); `But the voice of the schoolboy rallies the ranks: "Play up! Play up! and play the game!"'