end-game

Noun

endgame (plural endgames)

1. The final stage of a game of chess, when there are few pieces left.
   • Rooks become much more important in the endgame.
2. The final stage of a game of bridge, when there are few cards left.
   • You can't really use squeeze plays until the endgame.
3. (broadly) The final stage of any game.
   • Being stuck with two V tiles can make for an awkward Scrabble endgame.
4. (figuratively) The final stage of an extended process or course of events, especially with the implication of the imminent realization of a masterful strategy or plan.
   • What's his endgame, do you think?
5. The gameplay available in a massively multiplayer online role-playing game for players who have completed all of the preset challenges.
6. (crosswording) The thematic element of an advanced cryptic crossword puzzle, typically solved after completing the grid.
   • Listener endgames have included […] shading every instance of the letters N - Z in the completed grid to reveal a 'normal' blocked crossword hidden in the one just solved2013 November 7, Alan Connor, Two Girls, One on Each Knee: The Puzzling, Playful World of the Crossword, Penguin UK, →ISBN

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