The Original Game
Desert Bus was created by Penn & Teller for their unreleased 1995 Sega CD game "Smoke and Mirrors." It was designed as a satire of claims that video games were too violent — by creating the most boring, non-violent game possible.
Unofficial tribute from the Vanagon network
Desert Bus Westfalia Edition
Drive 360 miles through the desert. At 45 mph. In real time. For 8 hours. Keep steering right.
8 hour trip360 miles1 point per runDateland halfwayFollow Alex home
Desert Bus
Penn & Teller's
Desert Bus
Westfalia Edition
Drive 360 miles through the empty Arizona desert in a 1979 VW Westfalia. At 45 mph. In real time. No pause button.
W / ↑ Accelerate · A / D Steer · H Horn · F Fullscreen
ROUTEJEROME → LA JOLLA
DRIVERALEX
TRIP#1
POINTS0
Jerome0% to Prescott ValleySan Diego
VW
0.0 mi360.0 mi remaining
ELAPSED00:00:00
SPEED0 MPH
ETA--:--:--
ENGINE
STEERING
HORN
ALEX
TOW
The wheel pulls LEFT — keep steering RIGHT
↔
◄ LeftTouch · anywhereRight ★
GAS
BRAKE
●
🎮 Keyboard Controls
Accelerate:Wor↑Brake:Sor↓Steer Left:Aor←Steer Right:
Dor→HOLD THIS!
Horn:HorSpaceWipers:VFullscreen:F⚠️ The wheel constantly pulls LEFT. Keep holding RIGHT to stay on the road!
Gamepad support: Left stick to steer, RT to accelerate, LT to brake, X to honk, Y for wipers, Start for fullscreen.
Leaderboard
RSSNo browser-local runs saved yet. Complete a canonical trip or end a run to record your first local entry.
Global leaderboard persistence is future protected and not faked.
Related Vanagon projects
This independent tribute celebrates the endurance premise. Visit Vanagon.com to explore related projects.
Original Desert Bus created by Penn & Teller. This browser tribute is unofficial and free.
Related projects: vanagon.com, gerry.vanagon.com, and vanagain.com.
Mile 180 — Halfway There
Dateland, Arizona
There's a small, beloved oasis along I-8 called Dateland. Famous for one thing: the date milkshake. Thick, sweet, cold, and loaded with Medjool dates from the surrounding groves. In our game, Dateland is the halfway point — the exact moment where you start to believe you might actually finish this.
Keep an eye on the horizon for the DATELAND sign rising out of the heat shimmer. You'll hear a chime when you pass it.
From the real road trip
Polaroids from the desert
The creative brief for this game came from a real VW bus road trip through the Arizona desert. These are the actual Polaroids. Scanned exactly as they were found — bent corners, lint, dust, and all.
Stopped to stretch somewhere off I-8. The orange one is Alex's.
Somewhere west of Gila Bend
Towering clouds rolling in. A highway sign counting down the miles.
AZ-95 heading toward Yuma
Golden hour. Green highway sign. You lose track of time out here.
Approach to the California border
The Story Behind the Bus
The Vanagon Network
This independent browser edition is part of the Vanagon network. Explore Vanagon.com, Gerry Vanagon, and Vanagain for related projects and stories.
This Tribute
A lovingly authentic rebuild in a 1979 VW Westfalia cockpit — with the air-cooled boxer engine, the left-pulling wheel, Alex's occasionally smoking car, and fellow VW buses who honk as they pass.
Play the game. Explore the Vanagon network.
This independent tribute is part of a small family of Vanagon projects. The links below open related sites in a new tab.