Crossword Genius

Very soft, yielding game at close of play (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

squashy

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'very soft yielding' is the definition.
'squashy' can be an answer for 'yielding' (I've seen this before). I'm not sure about the 'very soft' bit.

'game at close of play' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'game' could be 'squash' (squash is a kind of game) and 'squash' is found within the answer.
'close of play' could be 'y' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'y' is found within the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for squashy that I've seen before include "Yielding" , "Like overripe fruit" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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