Crossword Genius

Playing cards on board ship? (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

decks

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

'playing cards on board ship?' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'playing cards on' is the wordplay.
'playing' becomes 's' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'cards' becomes 'deck' (deck of cards).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
's' put after 'deck' is 'DECKS'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for decks that I've seen before include "Packs of playing cards" , "Floors" , "Embellishes" , "Packs of cards (US)" , "Platforms on a vessel" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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