Quick answer: Run a New Year step challenge from Monday 4 January to Sunday 31 January 2027: exactly four Monday-to-Sunday rounds, 28 days. Give each week its own scoring rule: most consistent days, best balance, most steps, then a rematch of the group’s favorite. Invite two to eight people and ask for replies by Sunday 3 January.
The January 2027 plan
January 2027 starts on a Friday, so the first full week begins on Monday 4 January. Four Monday-to-Sunday rounds later, you finish exactly on Sunday 31 January. Treat 1 to 3 January as a warm-up: people can check that their phone records steps and that everyone has the invite.
- Week 1, 4 to 10 January: most consistent days. Whoever walks on the most days wins. Anyone can take this one, which suits the slow first week after the holidays.
- Week 2, 11 to 17 January: best balance. The highest daily average wins, with each day capped (the challenge generator uses 5,000 steps). One huge Saturday can’t decide the week.
- Week 3, 18 to 24 January: most steps. The highest weekly total wins. By now people know their routine, so this is the open race.
- Week 4, 25 to 31 January: the group’s pick. On Sunday 24 January, vote for a rematch of the rule people enjoyed most.
Agree before 4 January what counts as a walking day for week 1, such as a 20-minute walk or a step total you pick together. Each week starts fresh, so someone who has a bad week 2 is still in it for week 3. Want one winner for the month? Count round wins and settle a tie on the most walking days across January.
Copy the invite
Send it between Christmas and New Year, when people are already thinking about January. Ask for replies by Sunday 3 January so the group is set before round one.
New Year step challenge? Four weekly rounds from Monday 4 January to Sunday 31 January. Each Monday starts a new round with a new rule, so a slow week only costs you one round. We count the steps our phones or watches record and post totals here every Sunday evening. There’s no daily target, and you can skip a week. Reply by Sunday 3 January if you’re in.
Two to eight people works well. With a bigger family, split into two groups and compare the group winners at the end of the month.
Run it now with a group chat
You don’t need to wait for an app. Open the four-week January brief in the challenge generator. It is set to four weekly rounds that start with most consistent days. Switch the group to family if that fits, copy the brief into your chat, and post the new rule each Monday.
- Each person reads their daily total from Apple Health on iPhone or their phone’s health or step app on Android.
- On Sunday evening, everyone posts their numbers for the week: daily totals for weeks 1 and 2, a weekly total for weeks 3 and 4.
- One person keeps the tally and posts the order. For best balance, count each day up to the cap, add the days, and divide by seven.
The manual version relies on people posting on time. With friends and family that usually works. The fair rules guide covers ties and late syncs.
Run it in MovePeeps from launch
The MovePeeps app is planned for 1 December 2026 on iPhone and Android, free at launch. It is being built to run this plan without the Sunday tally. You will be able to set up four weekly rounds back to back, pick the scoring rule for each one, and follow the month on one private leaderboard. Steps will come from Apple Health on iPhone or Health Connect on Android. A phone on its own is enough, and steps from a watch count when the watch saves them to one of those apps.
Want a practice round first? The first full week after launch runs from Monday 7 to Sunday 13 December 2026, which leaves time to sort out anyone’s phone settings before 4 January. Until launch, the group chat version works fine, and you can join the waitlist for the launch email and a beta invite if there’s a spot.
The app will have limits. Rounds always run Monday to Sunday, a group holds up to eight people, and there are no manual bonus points. If you need any of that, a shared sheet is the better tool; see spreadsheet or app.
If someone joins late or drops off
A late joiner starts at the next Monday. Leave their earlier rounds blank rather than scoring them as zero, so the monthly count stays fair. If someone goes quiet after week 2, send one friendly message (“Still up for the last two weeks?”) and leave it there. When January ends, the guide to keeping a challenge going helps you ask about February.
Plan your first round
Planned for 1 December, iPhone and Android, free at launch. The MovePeeps app will run private step challenges for two to eight people. Rounds run Monday to Sunday, for one week or a few in a row, and the group picks the scoring: most steps, most consistent days, or best balance with a daily cap. Steps come from Apple Health on iPhone or Health Connect on Android, so a phone is enough, and a watch counts if it saves its steps there.
Want to start sooner? Use the challenge generator to copy a plan into your group chat, or join the waitlist for the launch email and a beta invite if there’s a spot. We don’t send newsletters.
If a step total looks delayed or an invite does not work, visit MovePeeps support. See the privacy policy for what the app reads and shares.