Learn How To Play the Game

“Whatever its tale, Pin the Tail is a fun, nostalgic long-standing game!”

The tale of Pin the Tail on the Donkey: We have a fellow by the name of Charles Zimmerling to thank for our modern day Pin the Tail game.

In the 1880s Mr. Zimmerling patented a game he created and named, Donkey Party. It wasn’t until the 20th century that the game publishing giant, Milton Bradley, published the Donkey Party game.

There is a telltale sign that the game was created out of sympathy for a genetic faux pax which causes some donkeys to be born with no tail or only a stub where a tail should have grown (think Eeyore).

Was Mr. Zimmerling the donkey sympathizer? Without enough information, even writers can be tale-less.

Whatever its tale, Pin the Tail is a fun, nostalgic (to us — new to the youngest birthday celebrants, of course) long-standing game!

How to Play Pin the Tail on the Donkey

1. Line up all players 6 to 10 feet away from the donkey poster.
2. Blindfold the “pinner.”
3. Spin the “pinner” around 3 times.
4. Face her toward the donkey poster.
5. Point her in the right direction guiding her toward the poster.
6. Pinner sticks the tail where she thinks it belongs on the donkey.
7. Repeat with remaining players.

For older kids and adults, no feeling of the poster is allowed. Watching where the tail ends up on the donkey is half the fun of this game!

Photo by stev.ie. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0).

Winning the Pin the Tail on the Donkey Game

The player whose tail is closest to, or on, the donkey’s “tail end” is the winner.

You can play best out of 3 tries or something similar. The more attempts your pinners make, the more hilarious the game becomes.

Variations on the Game

There are many variations to Pin the Tail on the Donkey game, particularly when it comes to matching the game with your birthday theme. Examples include:

• Pin the Nose on the Clown
• Pin the Flower on the Stem
• Pin the Hat on the Cowboy
• Use your creativity and share your ideas at the bottom of this page.

Game Tips & Cautions

Nowadays, it is rare to use actual pins to pin the tail (or other missing part) onto the poster. As an alternative you can use:

1. Double-sided sticky tape
2. Velcro
3. Pop-dots
4. Glue tape
5. Homemade double-sided tape. Here’s how: I simply take a piece of Scotch tape or masking tape (anything sticky and tape-like), make a circle with it with sticky side facing out, attached the ends and, voila! double sided sticky tape the cheap way. I then stuck the tape to the backs of the objects to be “stuck.”

Another fun idea is to turn this game into a birthday craft. Have craft supplies ready such as glitter, stickers, pom-poms, paint dots, and let the kids decorate their own tail, flower, hat, etc. Just remember to put the child’s name on their artwork.

If you like Pin the Tail on the Donkey, you may also like:

• Feely Bag
• Hot Potato
• 3 Legged Race
• Egg Race