What the hell is Desert Bus?

So a week or so ago I was contacted by some folks from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, concerning a charity event I had never heard of. They've been running this annual charity event for the last four years (this year being the fifth) and are looking to expand their geeky audience into the tabletop miniatures realm. Unfortunately I'm too busy at the moment to have helped out, but I'm sure I'll jump in next year!

Anyway, back to the original question, what the hell is Desert Bus?

Well, you can check out their website here, but essentially it's a great bunch of folks from the lovely city of Victoria (on Vancouver Island) who sit down and play a video game for hours (24 hour shifts apparently) on end and stream the excitement online. Thousands of people around the globe tune in and place donations that all go to the great charity Child's Play.

Desert Bus is apparently a super-crappy game that was never released in which you drive a bus from Tuscon to Las Vegas. You don't get to stop to pick up or drop off passengers, and you don't have to avoid any roadkill, you just have to drive forward. Oh, and the bus occasionally pulls to the right.

So, head on over to the site, check it out, take a look at the cool stuff they're auctioning off, see which celebrities they're talking to via Skype, and so on. In just under 24 hours they've already raised over $33,000!

Next year, myself and a bunch of other miniature painters will be providing models that will be auctioned off during Desert Bus 6. Should be good to join up with more folks doing good things for kids : )

Cheers
Dave