From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English(play) a/the waiting game(play) a/the waiting gameWAITif you play a waiting game, you try to gain an advantage for yourself in a particular situation by deliberately doing nothing until you have seen what other people do → wait
Examples from the Corpus
(play) a/the waiting game• Although most people were relieved that the waiting game was over, the first days and nights were nerve-racking.• But von Steinholz wanted to play a waiting game and see where the trail led him.• Friday, and volunteer fireman Dave Papenfuss said it was purely a waiting game after that.• It was a waiting game now, she thought anxiously.• Lucy only wished that she could have more of the patience required to play a waiting game.• She had played a waiting game with great skill in the 1540s.• The Danley strike, like many others, was a waiting game and a numbers game.• Unfortunately, with work inhibition, the waiting game only ensures future problems. 