Looking for an easy New Year’s Eve game for kids and families? Midnight Mapmakers is a budget-friendly printable partner game that combines picture tiles, listening skills, and teamwork for a fun family celebration, classroom activity, or Noon Year’s Eve party. Print the pages, gather a few everyday supplies, and set up in about 10–15 minutes.
Planning a New Year’s Eve celebration with kids doesn’t have to mean filling every hour with a different activity. Sometimes you just need one simple game that gets everyone talking, laughing, and doing something together.
Midnight Mapmakers is a partner game where one person describes a secret picture arrangement and the other tries to recreate it.
There’s a small catch: the person giving directions can’t show the picture or point to the answer.
That means “put the balloon over there” probably won’t get you very far.
This printable New Year’s Eve game uses paper picture tiles, a placement mat, and a book or cereal box to keep the answer hidden. It works for a family evening at home, a kids’ holiday gathering, or an early Noon Year’s Eve celebration.
You can play long before midnight. Pajamas are welcome.
What Is Midnight Mapmakers?
Each pair has a describer and a builder.
The describer looks at a secret card showing six pictures arranged on a nine-space grid. The builder has a blank grid and six matching picture tiles.
The describer explains where the pictures belong. The builder listens, asks questions, and moves the tiles into place.
When both partners are ready, they reveal the secret card and compare.
Did the clock land in the right corner? Is the party hat where it belongs? Did someone mix up the middle row and the bottom row?
Each matching picture earns a point. Then partners swap jobs and try another card.
The fun comes from figuring things out together. A good question can help just as much as a good direction.
What You Need
You won’t need a shopping trip for this one.
Gather:
- The Midnight Mapmakers printable pages
- Printer paper
- Scissors
- A pencil
- An upright book or folded cereal box to use as a divider
Regular printer paper works. Cardstock is optional if you want sturdier pieces.
Each pair needs one placement mat and one set of six different picture tiles. The pictures are a clock, party hat, star, balloon, bell, and wrapped gift.
The tiles use different shapes, so you can print in grayscale if that works better for your budget.
What’s Included in the Printable Kit?
The five-page kit includes the pieces you need to set up and play:
| Page | What’s on it |
|---|---|
| Host Guide | Setup instructions, rules, and ways to adjust the game |
| Placement Mats | Two blank grids for the builders |
| Picture Tiles | Six complete sets of the six symbols |
| Secret Layout Cards | Six different arrangements to describe |
| Scores and Custom Layouts | A four-round score table and two grids for making new challenges |
For four people playing in two pairs, print each page once.
You’ll have extra picture tiles, which are handy if a balloon disappears under the table or somebody accidentally cuts through a clock.
Print the PDFs on US Letter paper at 100% or Actual Size so the tiles and grids keep their intended sizes.
Midnight Mapmakers Printable Game
For families, teachers, and kids ages 6 and up. Describe a secret picture layout and work together to recreate it.
$2.50 • Digital download
Five PDF pages and five 300 DPI PNG pages in one ZIP.
Set Up in About 10–15 Minutes
Start by cutting out the placement mats, picture tiles, and secret cards.
Give each pair a mat and one of each picture tile. Put the secret cards in a face-down pile.
Choose one partner to describe first and one to build. Set a book or folded cereal box between their work areas so the builder can’t see the secret card.
Before starting, look at the six symbols together and agree on their names.
This avoids the moment when one person keeps saying “the present” while their partner is looking for a picture labeled “gift.” Either word is fine as long as everyone understands it.
Next, check the TOP arrow on the mat and secret card. Both need to stay upright. That helps everyone agree about which row is the top row.
For a larger group, set up one little work area per pair. Teams can play at their own pace.
How to Play Midnight Mapmakers
1. Choose a Secret Card
The describer takes a card and keeps it hidden.
Each card shows all six pictures once. Three spaces are empty.
The builder starts with a completely clear mat.
2. Give Spoken Directions
The describer explains where each picture belongs using words.
Try directions like:
- “Put the clock in the top-left corner.”
- “The star goes in the very middle.”
- “Put the bell in the bottom row, on the right.”
- “Leave the top-middle space empty.”
The describer can look at the builder’s mat and clarify instructions, but cannot point, move the tiles, show the card, or draw the answer.
That’s where the teamwork comes in.
3. Ask Questions and Move Tiles
The builder places the pictures and asks questions when something isn’t clear.
“Do you mean the middle space in the top row?”
“Is the hat next to the balloon?”
“Should this corner stay empty?”
Questions are allowed. So are corrections before the reveal.
There’s no need to rush beginners. Let partners talk through the arrangement until they both think it’s ready.
4. Reveal and Compare
Show the secret card and check each picture.
A picture earns one point when it is in the correct space. There are six possible points per round.
Don’t worry about which way a tile is turned. A sideways balloon in the correct space still counts.
If a picture is in the wrong space, leave it there for a moment and talk about what happened. Maybe the direction was unclear. Maybe someone heard “left” when their partner said “right.”
Then reset the mat and move on.
5. Swap Roles
The builder becomes the describer, and the describer becomes the builder.
Play four rounds using different cards. Each partner gets two turns in each role.
The highest possible team score is 24 points. If teams tie, they share the win.
Make It Easier for Younger Kids
The placement mats have rows labeled A, B, and C and columns labeled 1, 2, and 3.
For an easier game, use those labels.
“Put the clock in A1” gives a child a clear location to find. You can explain that the letter tells them the row and the number tells them the column.
Take time to practice before keeping score.
You could also start by placing only three pictures, checking them together, and then adding the remaining three.
If a younger child wants to join but isn’t ready to work independently, pair them with an adult. Let the child choose and place the tiles while their partner helps with directions.
Add a Challenge for Older Kids
Once players are comfortable, cover the row and column labels.
Now they’ll need to describe positions using words such as:
- Above
- Below
- Beside
- Middle
- Corner
- Top row
- Bottom row
Encourage them to be specific.
“The gift goes beside the clock” might leave two possible spaces. “The gift goes immediately to the right of the clock” is much clearer.
You can keep questions allowed even in the harder version. Asking for clarification is part of the activity.
Skip Competition If That Fits Your Family Better
You don’t have to compare teams.
A pair can simply try to improve its own score from one round to the next. Or you can skip points and celebrate completing a matching layout.
This can work especially well when children of different ages are playing together.
After a reveal, ask:
“Which direction helped you the most?”
That gives everyone something useful to try in the next round without turning a mistake into a big deal.
Let the Kids Make New Secret Cards
After trying the included cards, use the blank grids on the final page to make new arrangements.
Place or draw each symbol once, leaving three spaces empty. Keep the new layout hidden from the builder.
Children can create cards for parents, siblings, or another team.
You might discover that making the challenge is somebody’s favorite part. There’s something satisfying about handing Dad a secret layout and finding out whether he follows directions as well as he thinks he does.
If you draw a new card, keep the pictures simple and recognizable. Stick figures aren’t needed—a basic balloon outline will do.
Where This Game Fits Into Your Celebration
Midnight Mapmakers works nicely when you want a seated activity between more energetic parts of the evening.
Try it after dinner, before an early countdown, or while everyone is waiting for the next snack.
It also makes a practical classroom or homeschool activity because children get to practice listening, asking questions, and describing positions while playing a game.
For a Noon Year’s Eve party, play a few rounds before the countdown. There’s no need to stretch the celebration until everyone is tired.
The supplies are easy to pack away, too. Keep the cards and tiles in an envelope so you can bring them out again.
Set up the divider, hand your partner a blank mat, and see what happens when you say:
“The clock goes in the top-left corner…”
Save This New Year’s Eve Game Idea
Pinterest description: Plan a budget-friendly New Year’s Eve party for kids with Midnight Mapmakers, a printable partner game that gets families describing, listening, and working together. Use simple picture tiles, a nine-space grid, and a cereal-box divider for a screen-free activity at home, in the classroom, or at a Noon Year’s Eve celebration. Find the supplies, easy setup instructions, and ways to adjust the game for younger and older kids in this DIY Party Mom guide.
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