ball game

noun

1. any game played with a ball, especially baseball or softball.
2. Informal. a situation and all its attendant circumstances: Having a new administration in power changes the entire ball game at city hall.Compare new ball game.
3. Archaeology. a ceremonial game of both ritual and sporting significance, played by teams on a ball court in Mesoamerican cultures from the Preclassic period to the Spanish conquest.

noun

1. any game played with a ball
2. US and Canadian a game of baseball
3. informal a situation; state of affairs (esp in the phrase a whole new ball game)