Play the Game (song)

1980 song by Queen

"Play the Game" is a song by British rock band Queen, written by Freddie Mercury. It is the first track on the first side of their 1980 album The Game. It also appears on their album Greatest Hits. The single was a hit in the UK, reaching No. 14 in the charts, and in the US, peaking at No. 42.

The song commences with a series of overlapping rushing noises on an Oberheim OB X synthesizer, heralding the band's acceptance of electronic instruments into their once explicitly "no synths" sonic repertoire. They played it in their live shows from 1980 to 1982. The song features a soft vocal by Mercury, ending with a strong A4 rising in pitch all the way to C5 in chest voice (contrary to the other C5s being hit in falsetto). Mercury also played piano on the track. Billboard considered "Play the Game" to be a return to Queen's traditional "epic, rather grand sound" after deviating from that sound with the rockabilly of their prior single "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". Cash Box similarly said that this was a return to Queen's "patented high tech, progressive pop sound" and they commented on "Freddie Mercury's breathless falsetto and sweet piano work" and "Brian May’s soaring lead guitar". Record World said that "Freddy Mercury leads a celestial choir of pretty falsettos juxtaposed with soaring guitars." Later singles "It's a Hard Life", "Let Me Live" and "You Don't Fool Me" revisit the theme presented in "Play the Game", with Mercury writing from the same lover's perspective years later in the former song, and reflecting on the memories of the failed relationship in the latter. Both "Play the Game" and "It's a Hard Life" are of a similar structure, revolving around Mercury's piano playing and the band's multi layered harmonies.

Baltimore indie rock duo Beach House recorded a cover of "Play the Game" that was contributed for the iTunes Store release of the Red Hot Organization's 2009 compilation Dark Was the Night, as an iTunes only bonus track. On 30 June 2017, the band released their B Sides and Rarities compilation album, which includes the cover.