Pin the tail on the donkey

Pin the tail on the donkey is a game played by groups of children, common at birthday parties and other gatherings. The earliest known version, listed in a catalog of American games compiled by the American Game Collectors Association in 1998, is dated 1899 and attributed to Kate Hunt. A picture of a donkey with a missing tail is tacked to a wall within easy reach of the children. One at a time, each child is blindfolded, handed a paper tail with a push pin or thumbtack poked through it, and spun around until disoriented, then gropes around and tries to pin the tail on the donkey. The player whose tail lands closest to the donkey's rear wins, though winning is generally of only marginal importance. The game is also used in child development research.