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I've always considered "Playing a card" to mean putting it into play.
There's not much from the glossary to help, but these definitions:1. The phrase ‘played by’ refers to cards played directly on the holder’s character(s) in battle.2. The phrase ‘played against’ refers to the character(s) in battle you are blocking or attacking.Based on these definitions, I would rule that "play" would have to be in battle. You said you were overruled. What was the ruling - battle only or territory too? You will still have to wait for more input from the experts.