Stamp Rally Passport Generator

A stamp rally sends people round a set of stations, each with something to see or do, and gives them a small passport to collect a stamp or a set of initials at every one. This makes the passport from the stations you type: a booklet that folds from ordinary paper, with a cover, a page of instructions, a numbered box for each station with its task underneath, and a finish page saying what to do with a full passport. It also prints a large sign for each station with the same number, so visitors can match box to place. When everyone setting off at once would crowd the first station, staggered starts give each group a different first station and a loop to follow from there.

Event name (optional)

When every box is filled (optional)

Printed on the finish page, for example where to collect a sticker.

Stations

3 to 24, one to a line, as "Name" or "Name | what to do there". Each name only once. Station numbers follow this list and match the signs.

A note for the instructions page (optional)

For example the finishing time, or to stay with your group.

Visiting order

Any order: one passport; visitors go wherever is quiet.

Paper size

Stamp boxes

Margin

Millimetres of blank edge, 5 to 40.

Print station signs too (two to a sheet)

How to print this, or save it as a PDF

There is no PDF to download, and there does not need to be. Open the print command in your browser and choose “Save as PDF” as the destination. Your browser decides whether the page address and date print across the top and bottom; if they appear, turn off “Headers and footers” in the print dialog.
Set the scale to 100%, not “fit to page”. This sheet is already the exact size of the paper you chose, so anything that resizes it makes every measurement on it wrong.
Leave the paper size in the dialog set to the same one you chose here.

The passports, their visiting orders and the printing steps will appear here.

What this generator does

Reads your stations, numbers them in the order listed, and lays out a passport booklet: cover, instructions, stamp pages, a finish page, and notes pages to make the page count a multiple of four. The booklet is imposed for saddle stitching, so the printed sheets fold into the right page order. With staggered starts, each group's passport visits the same loop from a different station.

How to use this tool

Type the stations one to a line, as a name or as "Name | what to do there". The list order sets each station's number.
Choose the visiting order: any order, in order, or staggered starts with a number of groups. Add an event name, a note and what to do at the end if you like.
Press Make the passports, then print double-sided, flipping on the short edge, fold the sheets in half and staple on the fold. Print the signs on one side.

Understanding the controls

Stations: 3 to 24, one to a line, as a name or as a name and a task separated by a bar. Two stations with the same name are refused, so boxes and signs cannot be confused.
Visiting order: Any order prints one passport; in order prints one passport with the stations in list order; staggered starts prints one design per group.
Number of groups: Staggered starts only: 2 to 12, and never more than the number of stations. Starts are spread as evenly round the loop as the numbers allow.
Stamp boxes: Four boxes to a booklet page, or two larger boxes to a page with larger text, which makes the booklet longer.
Event name, note and finish line: Optional text printed on the cover, the instructions page and the finish page. It stays in your browser.
Paper size and margin: A4 or US Letter, turned sideways, with each sheet holding two booklet pages; the margin is the blank edge your printer needs.

Worked examples

6 stations, any order, 4 boxes to a page: Cover, instructions, two stamp pages, a finish page and three notes pages: 8 pages on 2 sheets.
7 stations, staggered starts, 3 groups: Groups start at stations 1, 3 and 5. The group starting at 5 visits 5, 6, 7, 1, 2, 3, 4.

Common use cases

A school fair, open day or fête with stalls to visit
A museum, garden or nature trail with stopping points
A sports day or club taster session with activity stations

How this generator works

Nothing is random. The stations keep the numbers of your list. Any order and in order both visit 1, 2, 3 and so on; with staggered starts the stations form a loop, and group k of g starts at station k × n ÷ g + 1, rounded down, so the gaps between starts differ by at most one. The booklet uses the same saddle-stitch layout as the booklet imposition tool: the outer sheet carries the last page beside the first. Each passport is checked twice, once by folding the sheets back up and once by a formula for the sheet every page belongs on.

Assumptions this tool makes

A printer that prints both sides, or sheets fed through twice, flipping on the short edge.
Someone at each station, or a stamp left there, to fill the boxes.

Limitations and good to know

A paper passport only: it does not record visits anywhere, and a box filled by the visitor themselves looks the same as one filled at the station.
Up to 24 stations, with names of up to 40 characters and tasks of up to 90; longer tasks are refused rather than shrunk.
Staggered starts assume the stations can be visited in a loop; the order of the loop is the order of the list.
Not yet printed, folded and used at a real event; the layout has been checked on screen and in PDF only.

Common mistakes

Flipping on the long edge: For a sideways booklet, flip on the short edge, or every back page prints upside down.
Mixing sheets between copies: Keep each copy's sheets together, sheet 1 outside, before folding.

Privacy and your data

Station names, tasks and notes stay in your browser and are printed only on your passports. With analytics consent, a count records how many stations a pack had; the text itself is not sent.