| ACTORS | Some agents fail to start, representing players at some stage (6) |
| EMISSARIES | Agents fail to spot sign on back of cape (10) |
| AVATARS | Images representing players in an online game (7) |
| CASTLE | Keep the players, at some stage, in front of the French (6) |
| GENTLE | Some agent, Leominster, is soft and kind (6) |
| TALENT | Some agents' concern |
| NARCOS | Some agents |
| SECRET | Like some agents and Santas |
| STARVE | Lack food when harvest fails to start and is disrupted (6) |
| NEPHEW | Relative sigh of relief after one fails to start (6) |
| RANSOM | Extortionate price for a feature of Windows that fails to start (6) |
| OPENCAST | Did excavation start with some players, at some stage? (4-4) |
| ROTTER | Rogue racehorse fails to start (6) |
| OUTCASTS | The wrong group of players, at some stage, started to support exiles (8) |
| FICKLE | Unreliable female reaper fails to start |
| BROADCASTS | A group of players, at some stage, goes on air (10) |
| GETINONTHEACT | Participate with other players, at some stage (3,2,2,3,3) |
| CASTE | Players, at some stage, by the end, had found their place in society (5) |
| OVERCAST | Gloomy outlook for the wrong players, at some stage (8) |
| THEATRE | Dramatic setting for the players, at some stage (7) |
