Build professional match books with stage layouts, sponsor pages, maps, and export to PDF.
A match book is the printed document that shooters receive at a match. It contains the stage layouts, course of fire instructions, and any additional pages like sponsor logos, range maps, or safety briefings. Pew Pew Stage Factory lets you design match books visually and export them to PDF.
Before you can build a match book, you need a match. Go to the match list and click the button to create a new match. Give it a name, set the date, and choose whether it should be public (visible on the match list to everyone) or private (accessible only by direct link).
Once your match exists, you can add stages to it from the Stage Library. Open any stage you own and use the match association controls to assign it to your match.
From your match detail page, click the match book editor link to open the layout editor. This is a separate editor from the stage editor - it is specifically designed for assembling multi-page documents.
Stage pages are the core of your match book. When you add a stage page, the editor pulls in the stage layout as a full-page element. The stage preview renders inside an iframe showing exactly how it will appear in the final PDF.
Stage pages are locked - you cannot drag elements on top of them or rearrange their internal layout. Each stage occupies one full page. If you need to remove a stage page, right-click it in the page strip and use the context menu to clear it.
Custom pages let you add any content that is not a stage layout. Common uses include:
On a custom page, you can add text blocks, images, and polygon overlays. Drag and resize elements freely to build your layout.
Click the text tool to add a text block to a custom page. You can type directly into the block, then adjust the font size, alignment, and position. Text blocks support basic formatting for readable match book content.
Upload images for sponsor logos, range maps, or any other visual content. Images can be resized and positioned anywhere on custom pages. Common formats like JPG and PNG are supported.
The page strip at the bottom of the editor shows thumbnails of every page in your match book. Stage pages show PNG thumbnail previews while custom pages show SVG indicators. You can reorder pages by dragging them in the strip.
Right-click any page in the strip to access the page context menu with options to delete, duplicate, or clear the page.
A typical match book might be arranged like this:
There is no required order - arrange pages however makes sense for your event.
When viewing a match book (not editing), each stage page includes a detail panel showing the start position, scenario text, and procedure. On desktop, this panel appears to the right of the stage layout. On mobile devices (768px and below), it stacks below the stage image.
When your match book is ready, export it to PDF from the match book editor. The PDF generator faithfully recreates your layout including stage renderings, text formatting, and images. The exported PDF is ready to print and hand out at your match.
Match books have a "Book Mode" that provides a streamlined viewing experience for shooters planning their stage runs. In Book Mode, shooters can mark up stages with shooting positions and plan their movement through each course of fire.
For anonymous users (not logged in), Book Mode saves plans to the browser's local storage with a 60-day expiration. For logged-in users, plans are saved to the database and persist across devices.
If your match is set to public, anyone can view the match book - they do not need an account. This is useful for posting match books online before an event so shooters can review stages ahead of time.
Private matches require a direct link to access. Only people you share the link with can view the match book.