Just some old regular musical chairs

That's so last century...

I think I am going to agree with darkness_within on this one. “Winning” is a broad word. In the ultimate sense- to “win” is merely to either best someone in a contest, etc; or to acquire something you want through contest, endeavor, quest, etc. One can win at something where the only rules are those rules imposed by physics and nature- for example, if you and another hunter in the wilds go after the same prey- if your goal is to acquire the meat and or pelt of the animal- almost any scenario in which you do so would be “winning.” You could trap the animal, catch it, chase it, use projectile or thrown weapons, or even kill the other hunter or trick them into giving up the hunt.

Rules are the conditions one must meet through social contract or threat of force or other compulsion. For example- there is a local dance competition. You want to win the first place trophy. You COULD kill all the judges and all the other contestants and the audience, or break in- and leave with the trophy. So long as no one stops you from taking the trophy, you get the trophy. Now, both the hypotheticals I mention there would likely result in you being arrested or killed. This would be an example of an ultimate reliance on force to validate the rules of victory. If you stole or otherwise acquired the trophy outside the rules but without committing a crime- others would likely refuse to recognize your win- this would be enforcing the rules through social contract. The former requires sufficient force to stop you or make you not want to deal with it, and the latter requires that you care wether others recognize your win.

But since winning can be intangible- one can be simply endeavoring to have fun, or one might only care about their own recognition of a victory and not care of others acknowledge it- one can fail to meet the victory conditions set forth and still consider themselves a winner.

So ultimately, while Recieving a prize or recognition (or meeting a challenge of honor etc) for winning in an organized contest wherein the sponsor or public may have determination over the distribution of these things- generally relies upon recognition of victory and thus meeting the victory conditions set in the rules; I would say that winning is not dependent upon rules beyond if one wishes to count ones personal goals as a “rule,” which seems pointless anyway as that’s subjective and can change on a whim. It is also the case that save where contractual language allows discretionary rulings, or where the rules forbid that which is not explicitly allowed in the rules, anything not prohibited by the rules is theoretically allowed within the rules, unless and until the rules are amended to prohibit future abuse.