halacha theory - Is it permissible to cheat at board games?

Board games have absolutely no value - there is nothing won and nothing lost.

In such a situation is it permissible according to halakhah to cheat?

I am asking, not to find a reason to be deceitful with the permission of the Torah, but to see if this is one of those things (perhaps like saying "Oh my God") that we are raised to think is a sin but isn't really.

Thanks.

Answer

The Talmud (Art Scroll Yevamot volume 2 63a4) PDF of actual gemara page states:

Rav's wife would aggravate him. When he would tell her, "Prepare me lentils." she would [instead] prepare chimtzei (Rashi - possibly peas) [If he said, "Prepare me] chimtzei", she would [instead] prepare lentils. (Meiri states that she would do the opposit of what he asked in other matters as well). When his son Chiya grew up [and would relay his father's request to his mother], he would reverse [the requests] to her, [so that his father would en up receiving exactly what he requested]. [Upon receiving the desired dish and not realizing Chiya's subterfuge,] he (Rav) said to him (Chiya) "Your mother has improved [her ways]!" He (Chiya) replied to him "It was actually I who reversed [you request] to her." He (Rav) replied to him, This bears out the popular saying: '[The child] who comes from you will educate you' [I too should have thought of this trick]. [However] you should not do this, for it says (Jeremiah 9:4) they train their tounge to speak falsehood, striving etc. (to be iniquitous)

Similarly, you would be training the children (as well as yourself) to cheat As we see from the medrash, this is not allowed even from "good" motives. Even when there are circumstances in which one is allowed to lie (such as Yosef's brothers saying "our father said") it is strictly limited and would not apply to the case you mention.

Additionally I saw in Tradition

The Talmud (Shevuot 3 I a) presents two interesting cases which may serve as the basis of an inquiry concerning the parameters of truth.

A. How do we know that a disciple sitting before his master, who sees that the poor- man is right and the wealthy man wrong, should not remain silent? Because it is said: "From a false matter keep far" (Exodus 23: 7).

B. A disciple to whom his master says, "You know that if I were given a hundred manehs, I would not tell a lie; now so-and-so owes me one maneh . . . rand) I have definitely one witness; you come and stand there, but you need not say anything, so that you will not be uttering a lie from your mouth; - (But the debtor will think you have come to give evidence and wil perhaps admit the debt of his own accord). Even so, this is prohibited because it is said: "From a false matter keep far."

The Sephardic author of Ben Yehoyada suggests (Yevamot 65b) that the general rule permitting truth to be altered for purposes of peace has a basic limitation: i.e., the rule relates only to a situation where there is - a preexisting problem where an untrue statement may. maintain calm and harmony. However, where no prior problematic condition exists, the general rule is not applicable and additional reasons must be developed to sustain any alteration of truth.