The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word BILLIARDS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
B
I
L
L
I
A
R
D
S
More clues leading to the result BILLIARDS
- Evil One stopping poet's game
- Ball game’s all over without one got in by Canaries?
- . Mr Bryson somehow raids game
- Third of poachers feeling awful standing among pheasants perhaps, pocketing game
- Poor one engaged in one option for fives
- Game bird is all gone to pot
- Game all I cooked in partridges etc
- Sends request for payment, claiming raid ruined game
- Game birds, all I shot
- Playing this, is ball I’d planned to pot right?
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Game" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case game = billiards.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does BILLIARDS mean?
BILLIARDS noun- (games) A two-player cue sport played with two cue balls and one red ball, on a snooker sized table.
- (games) The collective noun for games played on a tabletop, usually with several balls, one or more of which is hit by a cue.
- A shot in billiards or snooker in which the cue ball strikes two other balls; a carom.
- Pertaining to the game of billiards.
- A dynamical system in which a particle alternates between motion in a straight line and specular reflections from a boundary.