Does anything worth having come out of it?

No. What comes down is confetti and drawings of sweets — no prizes, no points, nothing to pay for. Catching them is a flourish at the end and is not recorded anywhere.

How many hits does it take?

Between ten and thirteen. The number for that round is decided when the round begins, so some break early and some hold out. Only the body of the star counts as a hit, so swings that miss because it moved do not add to the tally. The cracks grow with the number of hits landed, which is how you can judge what is left.

Is there a blindfold, like the real thing?

No. Instead of taking your aim away, the star itself moves. On a screen a blindfold would only mean that you cannot see, which is not the same game at all.

Next toy →

Breaking

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Hit the swinging star until it gives.

How to play

Tap the star to hit it. It swings away from the side you hit, and cracks spread after a few good ones. Once it breaks, tap the sweets on the way down to catch them.

Notes on the feel

It hangs from a string so that your aim is always slightly off. Hitting a target that holds still is not interesting. Cracks grow on the side you have been hitting, so you can see it coming. The sweets piling up on the floor afterwards are half the point.

What is this, really?

The paper star that hangs from the ceiling at a Mexican celebration is a piñata. Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) places its arrival with the Augustinian friars who reached the region of Acolman, in the State of Mexico, in the second half of the sixteenth century, and records that the seven points stood for the seven deadly sins — "siete picos que simbolizaban los siete pecados capitales" — so that breaking the star stood for the breaking of evil. An article from Mexico's Ministry of Agriculture (SADER) says the same thing about the form: a star with seven points, each point one of the capital sins.

Which means it was hung up to be destroyed, from the very beginning. The sweets and fruit inside only arrive after it has been broken. The smashing is the celebration, and the person who smashes it is nobody's villain. Among the world's satisfying acts there are not many where destruction is this openly the point.

How it is done where it comes from

Where it is done properly, somebody holds the rope and changes the height every time a swing comes in. The aim is therefore always slightly off, and missing is part of what makes the room loud.

This version hangs the star as a pendulum for the same reason. Hitting a stationary target is not interesting. Only the body of the star registers a hit, so a swing that arrives after it has moved costs you nothing but the timing, and the number of hits a round needs is drawn when the round starts rather than fixed. It swings away from the side you struck, so the next blow is a choice between waiting for it to come back and chasing it. Cracks accumulate on the side you have been hitting, so you can see how close it is well before it gives. Once it does, the sweets come down and can be caught with a tap.

Questions people ask

Does anything worth having come out of it?: No. What comes down is confetti and drawings of sweets — no prizes, no points, nothing to pay for. Catching them is a flourish at the end and is not recorded anywhere.
How many hits does it take?: Between ten and thirteen. The number for that round is decided when the round begins, so some break early and some hold out. Only the body of the star counts as a hit, so swings that miss because it moved do not add to the tally. The cracks grow with the number of hits landed, which is how you can judge what is left.
Is there a blindfold, like the real thing?: No. Instead of taking your aim away, the star itself moves. On a screen a blindfold would only mean that you cannot see, which is not the same game at all.

Sources

Dates, names and definitions above are written only as far as the material below confirms them.

Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH), "Acolman: cuatro siglos de posadas y tradicionales piñatas""En la segunda mitad del siglo XVI, los frailes agustinos llegaron a la región de Acolman" / "siete picos que simbolizaban los siete pecados capitales"
Secretaría de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural (gob.mx), "Las piñatas, colorida tradición""la piñata debe ser en forma de estrella con siete picos, cada pico simboliza un pecado capital"