Close game, nothing less than hot (5)
I believe the answer is:
tight
'close' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'game nothing less than hot' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'game' could be 'tig' (playground game) and 'tig' is located in the answer.
'hot' could be 'h' (abbreviation eg on taps) and 'h' is located in the answer.
A single letter 't' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tight that I've seen before include "Mean; tipsy" , "Bottled ," , "Firmly fastened; drunk" , "Secretive, drunk (colloq.)" , "Squeezed" .)