Crossword Genius

Written ruling over opponents in board game (2,5,3,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

in black and white

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

'opponents in board game' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't judge whether it can be defined by this definition.

'written ruling' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'ruling' could be 'in' (the ruling party is voted 'in') and 'in' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'blackandwhite' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'over' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for in black and white that I've seen before include "committed to paper" , "How extreme viewpoints are" , "explicit" , "Most films are no longer" , "fundamentalist way of viewing things?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app