He played along just
to play one off against the other,
playing down his own role
while playing upon their weaknesses.
play
He played with the idea of doing something
but he let it play out instead.
Let them play up
while he played at indifference.
Sofia liked to play around.
She really liked to play at being a bad cat.
When she was hungry she would play up to anybody
who could feed her, playing upon any weakness
and if they didn’t, she would just play up.
Phrasal Verbs - By Example 