AmufoYour free workshop for everyday things.

Treasure Map Maker With Steps to the X

Your own backyard on old parchment, with the way to the treasure counted out.

Runs in your browser

Tap the map to add
Paper

Pick a thing, a palm, a rock, the house, a pond, a tent, a ship, and tap the map to put it there; drag it to move it and give it a name like "Old oak". Then switch to the trail and tap the way from the start to the treasure: the X appears at the end, and every leg of the trail gets its count of steps. Tell the map how many children's steps the garden is across, and it writes the directions out: "12 steps east, 10 steps north, then dig at the X." Print it on US Letter or A4 in landscape, whole or cut into four pieces to hide around the party. Everything happens in your browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no account.

More for the family

Open the Family & kids page

Making the map

  1. Walk the garden and count how many small steps it is across; type that number.
  2. Tap the things that are really there into their places: the tree, the swing, the shed as a house.
  3. Draw the trail from where the children start to where the treasure is buried, with a turn or three.
  4. Print it, age it with tea if you like, and hide the treasure where the X is.

On the map

ThingGood for
House, tentthe house, a shed, a playhouse
Tree, palm, flowerstrees, bushes and beds
Rock, hilla big stone, a slope, a sandpit
Pond, bridgewater, a puddle, a path over it
Swing, shipthe play corner, a boat, a slide
Chesta second treasure, or a clue

For clue cards along the way there is the scavenger hunt clue maker, and more for children’s parties is on the Family page.

Questions

How are the steps worked out?

You say how many children's steps the map is across, for example 40 if your garden is about 40 small steps from one side to the other. Every leg of the trail is measured on the map and turned into steps at that scale, rounded to whole steps, and given a direction from the compass: north is the top of the map. Walk the garden once with a child to check the number.

How do I put the map on paper so it looks old?

The map already prints on a parchment color with darker edges. For the real thing, rub the printed sheet with a cold wet tea bag, let it dry flat, and tear the edges a little; an adult can singe the edges over a sink. Roll it up and tie it with string.

How do the four pieces work?

Tick "Print it cut into 4 pieces" and the map prints with two jagged dashed lines across it. Cut along them and hide the pieces: the children find them, put the map together, and follow the trail. It works well with the clue cards of the scavenger hunt maker.

Can I use it indoors?

Yes: draw the rooms as a house and a few things, or place the furniture with the tent, the rock and the chest. Set the width in steps to the length of the flat or the room.

Is anything uploaded?

No. The map is drawn and turned into a PDF in your browser; it is remembered in this browser so you can change it before the party.