The Desert Bus for Hope. Donate for the kids. Or the lulz.

ChrisGrenard · Post by **ChrisGrenard** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 3:19 am

Hopefully this is still running by the time you read this.

Every year Penny Arcade holds their annual charity drive, known as Child's Play, which raises money to buy toys for Children's Hospitals all over the place. Last year I believe they hit a million dollars. So this year, a Canadian comedy team has decided to help out. By playing the worst game known to mankind. Desert Bus.

For the uninitiated, Desert Bus is a game where you drive a bus from Tuscon to Las Vegas. And back. In real time. At 45 mph. And the bus constantly pulls slightly to the right, so you have to correct it constantly. That's it. And if you get there, you just have to drive back to Tuscon. And then back to Vegas. And back to Tuscon. And back to Vegas. And so on, for all eternity.

So, said comedy team has been playing now for three days straight with a 4 man crew taking shifts. And they'll keep playing as long as people donate enough to make them keep going. So far they've raised over 21,000 dollars, which is nothing to scoff at for sure. I threw in my 20 bucks, partially because I had intended to donate anyway and partially because I like seeing people suffer. And really, wouldn't you like to see these lousy canucks suffer more? So get on over there and toss them five bucks. Make their lives just a little bit worse.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Fri Nov 22, 2013 10:20 am

Arise! Desert Bus for Hope is back for its seventh year. Which is kind of amazing.

Also amazing: Chris's post from 2007 notes that they've raised an impressive $21k. This year, they've already raised $390k.

ChrisGrenard · Post by **ChrisGrenard** » Fri Nov 22, 2013 5:02 pm

AWS260 wrote:Arise! Desert Bus for Hope is back for its seventh year. Which is kind of amazing.

Also amazing: Chris's post from 2007 notes that they've raised an impressive $21k. This year, they've already raised $390k.

Also amazing, 7 years ago I was willing to use the word, "lulz."

Holy shit, sometime between then and now I became an adult. Well, of sorts.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Wed Nov 04, 2015 10:02 pm

Desert Bus for Hope 9 is nearly upon us! Woohoo!!!
The crazy starts on 14 Nov 2015 at 1000 PST.

Be there or be square (and miss out on the chance to acquire this guy -- For The Chillunz!!!)

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 4:29 pm

Oh, hey, what's that stuff happening on twitch, this very weekend...

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sun Nov 15, 2015 5:05 pm

Penn Jillette is making his DB9 appearance (by having DB9 as a guest on his Sunday School podcast) even as I type...

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Wed Nov 09, 2016 7:15 am

Hey, y'all in need of a little warm-and-fuzzy? Desert Bus For Hope 10 is nigh, starting at 1000 PST on 12 Nov 2016.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Nov 12, 2016 2:05 pm

Just a bump to point out that they're live and streaming on twitch, and will probably keep the nerd-a-thon going for the next week or so.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Nov 19, 2016 4:22 am

Another year, another record.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Nov 18, 2017 12:34 am

Oh, hey, it's already time for Desert Bus 2017!

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Sat Nov 18, 2017 1:22 am

Wait is Max Peck Chris Grenard?

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Nov 24, 2017 11:35 am

Another crazily successful Desert Bus run, raising a little over $650,000.

This was probably my favourite moment this year -- dancing to Gangnam Style at half-speed, with a little extra spice added by the engineering team:

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Nov 16, 2018 11:11 am

Just when I thought we must have reached peak Desert Bus, those wacky kids set a new record.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Fri Nov 16, 2018 1:26 pm

Max... Are you the original Chris Grenard?

If so, MIND BLOWN

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Nov 16, 2018 2:24 pm

naednek wrote: ↑Fri Nov 16, 2018 1:26 pm Max... Are you the original Chris Grenard?

If so, MIND BLOWN

No, I'm just squatting in his thread. I didn't start watching Desert Bus until 2012 or thereabouts (a co-worker who was a big LoadingReadyRun fan told me about it), but it has became an annual must-see feel-good event for me for the last few years.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Fri Nov 16, 2018 2:33 pm

ah ok. No worries about squatting, just clean up after yourself

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Thu Nov 07, 2019 6:10 pm

It's that time of year again: the tech test for Desert Bus for Hope 2019 is live on Twitch, and the marathon itself starts tomorrow.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Nov 15, 2019 8:09 am

The question: What is the point of playing the world's worst video game for 162 consecutive hours?

The answer: $864,415 raised for Child's Play.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Nov 13, 2020 2:39 pm

Even 2020 can't stop the Desert Bus For Hope.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Nov 20, 2020 11:14 am

They went 164 hours this year, with the amount raised coming to $986,718 at the end of the run. Since there will probably be some late money coming in from merch sales, it is possible that the final total might hit $1M.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Nov 12, 2021 10:31 pm

It's that time of year again. Desert Bus 2021 is live!

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:19 pm

This year's run lasted 167 hours, setting a new record for donations raised.

Youtube highlights

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Nov 12, 2022 6:11 pm

Desert Bus for Hope 2022 is up and running.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 5:37 pm

And they're done for another year.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 6:42 pm

If I read that right they made $1.1 million for the year? Nice Grats to them! Hope it helps.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 7:31 pm

That's correct (someone triggered a UWU mem effect on the overlay, if you're wondering about the spelling). The final tally will be a little higher than that. At the end of the run the total includes all the direct donations made by viewers and a lot of the money raised by merchandise sales, but it will take some time for the final merch sales to get tallied up.

All the money raised goes to the Child's Play charity, if you're curious about how it is put to use.

They also have a ton of videos from this year uploaded to Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/DesertBusForHope/playlists

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 7:46 pm

Child's Play. Is that the charity started by Penny Arcade?

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Nov 19, 2022 9:27 pm

Yes. Jerry Holkins has participated in Desert Bus a few times, including travelling up to attend in person once or twice back before COVID.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Nov 11, 2023 8:40 pm

Desert Bus is live again starting today.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Nov 11, 2023 9:54 pm

Ok its been too long and Ive gone though many medications. What is this again? I see people sitting in a room talking or playing a game and a simulated bus in the lower right. Is there some real bus or something or what? Im confused.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat Nov 11, 2023 10:17 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sat Nov 11, 2023 9:54 pm Ok its been too long and Ive gone though many medications. What is this again? I see people sitting in a room talking or playing a game and a simulated bus in the lower right. Is there some real bus or something or what? Im confused.

Did you try looking at the first post? It's often a source of multitudinous knowledge regarding the topic it thereby commenced.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sun Nov 12, 2023 8:14 am

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sat Nov 11, 2023 9:54 pm Ok its been too long and Ive gone though many medications. What is this again? I see people sitting in a room talking or playing a game and a simulated bus in the lower right. Is there some real bus or something or what? Im confused.

In their own words:

Desert Bus for Hope is the world’s longest running and most successful internet charity fundraiser. Started by internet comedy powerhouse LoadingReadyRun in 2007, we’ve raised more than $9 million dollars for the Child’s Play Charity , an organization that donates toys, games and money to Children’s hospitals all over the world.

The more money we raise for Child’s Play, the longer the team must play Desert Bus, an unreleased Sega CD mini-game that is widely considered to be the worst game ever made.

Although watching us suffer through Desert Bus is amusing in its own way, we also entertain our viewers by taking requests. We are more than willing to sing, dance, take challenges to eat gross things, and act very silly in order to raise money for Child’s Play.

We also auction off and give away hundreds of incredible prizes to Desert Bus viewers. If you want a chance to win incredibly rare prizes, or one-of-a-kind handmade items, you’re in the right place!

To find out more about Desert Bus for Hope, and make an account, visit the official website.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sun Nov 12, 2023 10:19 am

Peak Desert Bus 2023: The current driver was born in the year that Desert Bus For Hope started.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Nov 18, 2023 5:12 pm

Another year, another million dollars and change raised for the charity.

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Sun Nov 19, 2023 11:38 pm

Please confirm or correct.
Was this the game that came bundled with Penn and Tellers book?
If so, was this game designed specifically for their book?

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Mon Nov 20, 2023 12:40 am

Punisher wrote: ↑Sun Nov 19, 2023 11:38 pm Please confirm or correct.
Was this the game that came bundled with Penn and Tellers book?
If so, was this game designed specifically for their book?

I believe it was a Sega CD game that was never actually released.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Mon Nov 20, 2023 12:46 am

Punisher wrote: ↑Sun Nov 19, 2023 11:38 pm Please confirm or correct.
Was this the game that came bundled with Penn and Tellers book?
If so, was this game designed specifically for their book?

Desert Bus was a mini-game that was going to be part of their Smoke and Mirrors Sega CD game, but it was never released.

Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors is an unreleased video game starring the magician duo Penn & Teller that was planned for release initially on the Sega CD in April 1995. The game is a collection of several minigames and an adventure platform game. All the minigames, with one exception, were made for the sole purpose of enabling the player to fool their friends by different means, designating the games "scam minigames" and virtual tricks. Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors is similar to the video Penn & Teller's Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends, which has the same purpose, and uses properties of the video medium itself for the tricks.

Smoke and Mirrors was developed by Imagineering and was scheduled to be published by Absolute Entertainment. The game was reviewed in several publications, but Absolute Entertainment went out of business before the game could be released. The creators were unable to find other companies interested in the game, and it was never released. It received attention when a copy circulated on the Internet in 2005 and has since gained a cult following, especially for the Desert Bus Minigame.

Of course, there are ways to experience Desert Bus for yourself (if you're enough of a masochist to do that). For example:

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Nov 08, 2024 8:11 pm

Desert Bus for Hope 2024 is up and running!

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Tue Nov 12, 2024 2:20 pm

Fun fact: The comfy chair seen in this video from Desert Bus 2 back in 2009 is still being used by the Desert Bus drivers today. Some of the same people from the video are still involved win Desert Bus too, although they're more subject to the passing years than the chair, which hasn't aged a day.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Fri Nov 15, 2024 7:06 pm

Another year, another record. This is the first time they've raised enough to go 168 hours (one full week).