If there are no winners?

[JaneYoung]

If there are rules involved in the game it matters whether there is a winner or not.
My thinking is this:
- there are those who want to learn and understand the rules so that they can abide by them and follow them
- there are those who want to know how far they can bend the rules
and
- there are those who want to know the rules so that they can break them/disregard them

How we respect the rules of the game is a reflection of our character and integrity - win, lose, or draw

[Capt.ArD]

I'd say that attempting to get a leg up on the competition is cheating and is wrong in any case.
But in the event there are no losers/winners/it doesn't actually help you win, then it really made no difference, as it effected nobody at all.

it probably shouldn't be done, but in such a case, who honestly cares?

I play fun games with friends where we encourage cheating. it adds a level of deception and extra sneakiness to the game, which may get boring pretty quick otherwise. cheating doesn't even help you all that much, so we let it go.