Pin the Tail on the Black Cat: Free Printable Halloween Party Game

Some party games are classics because they work, not because they’re exciting on paper. Pin the Tail on the Donkey has survived a century of birthday parties for one reason: blindfolded kids stumbling toward a wall is objectively hilarious. Our Halloween version — Pin the Tail on the Black Cat — keeps the whole formula and adds a printable cat poster plus a sheet of numbered tails. Print this page, cut, tape, done.

Below is everything written out: the setup, the rules card, and the numbered tail sheet. It’s all free. At the end I’ll point you to the designed poster-and-tails bundle in our Etsy shop if you want the polished version.

Why Pin the Tail on the Black Cat Still Wins

I’ve watched this game land with three-year-olds, surly tweens, and office coworkers at a Halloween lunch. It works because the stakes are zero, the skill is zero, and the spectacle is enormous. Nobody remembers who won. Everybody remembers the kid who pinned the tail on the cat’s ear and declared victory anyway.

It’s also one of the few party games that genuinely suits a classroom. One poster on the whiteboard, one line of kids, done in fifteen minutes with zero cleanup.

What You Need

• The printable tail sheet below — one tail per player, plus a few spares.
• A black cat poster. Draw a big cat silhouette on poster board (an arched back, pointy ears, curled tail-less rear — the tail spot is the whole point), or print a large cat outline across several sheets and tape them together. Aim for at least 2 feet tall so it’s visible across the room.
• A blindfold. A sleep mask, a bandana, a Halloween eye mask — anything that actually blocks vision. Test it; kids cheat with “blindfolds” you can see through.
• Tape, sticky tack, or push pins — one adhesive dot per tail. Removable mounting squares are ideal because tails can be repositioned for judging.
• A marker to number each tail and write the target spot.
• Small prizes for closest tail, funniest placement, and bravest spin.

Setting Up the Poster

1. Hang the cat poster on a wall or door at kid-shoulder height. Tape the edges flat so tails stick cleanly.
2. Mark a small X on the cat’s rear where the tail belongs — then cover the X with a sticky note during play. (Peel it off for judging. The gasps are worth it.)
3. Clear a straight runway of about 8–10 feet in front of the poster. Move the candy bowl. Seriously.
4. Lay the numbered tails face-down on a nearby table with the adhesive dots already attached.

The Rules Card (Print This and Read It Out Loud)

1. Each player draws one numbered tail and writes their name on the back.
2. The host puts the blindfold on, gives the player three slow spins, and points them toward the cat. (Three spins. Not ten. We’re going for dizzy, not nauseous.)
3. The player walks to the poster and sticks their tail wherever they think it belongs. One try, no re-dos, no feeling around the wall first.
4. Everyone else may cheer, gasp, or give completely unhelpful directions. “Helpful” directions like “a little to the left” are allowed at kids’ parties and banned at adult ones.
5. After everyone has gone, the host removes the sticky note covering the X and measures. Closest tail wins.
6. Tie? The tied players get one more turn each, blindfolded, standing still — no spins, just reach and stick.

The Printable Tail Sheet

Print this page, cut out one tail per player along the lines, and write each player’s name in the blank. A tail should be roughly the size of your hand — long, curved, with a little tuft at the end. If you’re drawing your own, make them chunky; skinny tails tear.

PIN THE TAIL ON THE BLACK CAT — TAIL SHEET
(Cut along the lines. One tail per player. Write the player’s name in the blank.)

TAIL #1   Player: ____________________
TAIL #2   Player: ____________________
TAIL #3   Player: ____________________
TAIL #4   Player: ____________________
TAIL #5   Player: ____________________
TAIL #6   Player: ____________________
TAIL #7   Player: ____________________
TAIL #8   Player: ____________________
TAIL #9   Player: ____________________
TAIL #10   Player: ____________________
TAIL #11   Player: ____________________
TAIL #12   Player: ____________________

Need more players? Copy TAIL #1–#12 onto a second sheet and keep numbering: #13, #14, and so on.

Judging: Closest Tail Wins (Plus the Awards That Actually Matter)

Measuring is simple: hold a ruler or a piece of string from the X to the base of each tail (where it sticks to the poster, not the tip). Shortest distance wins. Announce the winner, then hand out the awards people will actually talk about:

• Closest Tail — the real winner.
• Most Creative Placement — the tail on the ear, the nose, or somehow on the ceiling-adjacent wall.
• Bravest Spinner — whoever took the three spins most seriously.
• Best Sport — for the kid who pinned the tail on the dog poster next door and laughed about it.

Variations for Different Crowds

Toddlers (ages 2–4): Skip the blindfold and the spins. Let them walk up with eyes open and stick a sticker tail on the cat. At this age the win is just participating, and the photos are adorable.

Classroom version: Use a magnetic whiteboard and put magnets on the back of laminated tails. Whole-class game, no wall damage, fifteen minutes flat.

Tweens: Add a twist — after sticking the tail, the player has to meow like a cat before removing the blindfold. Peer pressure does the rest.

Office party version: Rename it “Pin the Broom on the Witch” or “Pin the Hat on the Wizard” and play it exactly the same. Adults pretend they’re above it right up until someone pins the broom on the witch’s face and the whole break room loses it.

Hosting Tips I Learned the Hard Way

• Number the tails before the party. Handing a kid a marker and saying “write your name on the back” takes ninety seconds per child. Pre-numbered tails take three.
• One player at a time near the poster. The line of waiting kids should stand well back — a blindfolded seven-year-old with momentum is a force of nature.
• Photograph each attempt. The mid-stumble photos are the actual prize of this game. Get the poster, the blindfold, and the doomed trajectory in frame.
• Keep spare adhesive dots handy. Tails fall off. It’s fine. Stick them back on and keep the line moving.

Want the Designed Poster Bundle?

The hand-drawn poster and the tail sheet above will absolutely carry your party tonight. But if you’d like the designed bundle — a large printable black cat poster, pre-numbered tail sheets, and matching award tags in one coordinated set — it’s in our Etsy shop: fukroo.etsy.com.

That’s the whole game: one poster, a dozen tails, a blindfold, and three spins each. It takes twenty minutes to set up and it’ll be the thing your guests bring up next October. The cat, I promise, does not mind being tailless.

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