Pee Wee Punch - The Come Back

Up until I was a teenager my family owned a Volkswagen Beetle car, and therefore the Pee Wee Punch game was a big part of my childhood.  There are a few other known names for this game, such as, Punch Buggy, Slug Bug, Beetle Bug Punch, etc., the actual name of this game depends on where you come from... but... no matter what you call it... the game is the same.  Basically it is a game of observing your surroundings while traveling in a car... but in particular to spotting Volkswagen Beetle cars.

I would bet that most who are reading this blog (in the United States) know exactly what this game is and how to play it... but... as in many other traditional games, the rules may slightly vary from region to region and family to family... so..... at the beginning of playing this game, it is optimal for all players to agree on the same set of rules before engaging in the game.

The Rules (How to Play)


As stated above... there are many variations of rules to this game, and/or you can adapt your own rules as well... as long as everyone else playing agrees to them.  Here are my own family adaption rules.

1.  After spotting a Volkswagen Beetle car, you must be the first to shout out it's location and the color of the vehicle.  For instance... if a red Volkswagen Beetle car has been spotted by a player(s), the first person to shout out "RED ONE" (while pointing in the direction of the vehicle so that it may be confirmed by other players).... or "PEE WEE PUNCH RED"... or "SLUG BUG RED", etc.

2.  As the first player shouts out the spotting of a Volkswagen Beetle and the color, the spotting player then taps or lightly hits any other player in the game.

3.  The player who first successfully, and correctly spots, shouts out, and taps another player is then awarded a point for that particular Volkswagen Beetle.

4.  Hard slapping and fist hitting are not allowed in our version... and most times we play with just being the first to shout out the car color without any physical interaction.  The object of the game is to be more observant and earn the most "PEE WEE PUNCH" points... not to out hit or hurt any other player.

5.  A Volkswagen Beetle must actually be spotted before shouting out to count.  If there is a particular spot in your town/neighborhood where you KNOW a Volkswagen Beetle is usually parked... the vehicle must be actually seen before it can be counted... this is one gray area where players try to cheat!  LOL  Of course I love it when it happens that a player pre-shouts before having sight on the vehicle and the vehicle ISN'T in it's usual spot!!!

This is a game to involve all passengers of any age, in any car to make a car trip a bit more fun, especially when driving long distances.  My husband and I play this game every time we are in the car together, and it's such a silly thing, but we have lots of fun with it.  All it takes is one person in the car to begin the game... don't be disappointed if others in your car proclaim they don't want to play... usually when I begin playing this game while traveling with anyone other than my husband, sometimes the other passengers don't know how to play or say they don't want to play... but... after I spot and shout out a couple of Volkswagen Beetles, the other passengers can't help themselves and become competitive and then it's "GAME ON"!!!!  :  )

Being a passenger in a car isn't the only time you can play this game... you can actually play it anytime where there happens to traffic or parking lots... you can just be walking outside to play.  There have been many car traveling games Joe and I have played with our daughters through the years when they were little to keep them entertained and distracted while traveling.  PEE WEE PUNCH is my all time favorite travel game because I am one of those who tend to get a bit queazy when trying to focus too hard while looking out the car window, but Volkswagen Beetles are large enough to spot easily without having to focus too hard.  When our daughters were small we have played the license plate game, 20 questions, car bingo, counting the semi's, etc... but Pee Wee Punch is still my favorite.

For whatever reason Wichita Kansas has a lot of Volkswagen Beetles driving around, and each time Joe and I are in the Wichita area our Pee Wee Punch count easily reaches into the double digits... the only other time our count reaches that high is on a long distance cross country trip.  We even played Pee Wee Punch when we traveled to Vancouver Canada and Amsterdam this summer.  We didn't see many while on these trips... but it was still GAME ON all the same!  And why is it that I see several Pee Wee Punches when I am driving around town alone and no one to play with???  I am even known to shout out Pee Wee Punches when I am driving around while talking on my cell phone (hands free of course... earbuds in ears) to whomever I happen to be talking to... now that is definitely competitive!!!  Even when I spot Pee Wee Punches while I'm all alone... it still makes me smile knowing that if I was with anyone else it would be a race to score that Pee Wee Punch point.

So next time you are driving or are a passenger in a car, have some fun and just start playing the game... others in the car won't be able to help themselves... and it will then be GAME ON!!!  PEE WEE PUNCH BLUE!!!!