Bringing “punch buggy” to a whole new level

Maybe I just grew up in the wrong part of the country or something, but somehow I never learned about the “punch buggy” game until I got married and my wife made fun of me for not knowing it:

Now, VW is turning it into a game that, if you win, you get a chance to get an actual, honest-to-God car for your troubles.  Deal is, you have to spot all 13 types of VW while playing their PunchDub game and hey, you’re entered.  So surf on over to the site, check out the details, and see if it appeals to you.  Personally, free cars appeal to me.

Full info after the jump.

Have you ever wondered where the idea of slugging someone when you see a VW began? We did. So we launched an extensive search to find the inventor of PunchDub. We found him. And believe it or not, he goes by the name Charlie “Sluggy” Patterson.

We told Sluggy we wanted to make his game bigger than just the Beetle. After months of negotiation, Sluggy got on board, and we went to work making the official rules manual, which we’ve included. You can also see Sluggy’s videos at http://vw.com/sluggy and follow him at http://twitter.com/sluggypatterson.

During the third quarter of Sunday’s big game VW announced the game of PunchDub to the entire world. Officially, PunchDub will now be played with all 13 VW models. At http://www.vw.com/punchdub, you’re able to throw 13 different kinds of punches at your friends. Every punch thrown is a chance to win prizes in the PunchDub Sweepstakes.

Players who punch with all 13 models are eligible to win a 2010 VW CC. When asked about the advertising campaign, Sluggy mocked, “About time. I was wondering why Volkswagen never called to thank me, give me a free oil change, something.”

Try your hand at PunchDub, and see why people around the world, as well as Sluggy and his friends, have been playing it for over half a century.