Four people playing one of the most boring video games in the world for five days and 16 hours this week raised $132,000 to help buy games and toys for hospitals.

Kathleen De Vere, performer with the Victoria sketch comedy group LoadingReadyRun, was still yawning yesterday after closing out the last 22-hour homestretch of the marathon.

More than 100,000 individual viewers logged in to the live feed at www.desertbus.org to watch James Turner, Bill Watt, Morgan van Humbeck and Jeremy Petter play Desert Bus, a game where the player drives a virtual bus for eight hours between Tucson, Ariz., and Las Vegas.

At any one time, De Vere estimates 1,500 viewers were logged in, participating in the live chat and donating money to keep the foursome playing.

De Vere said this year, people logged in from around the globe, some from as far away as Japan, Norway, Scotland and Australia.

The funds go to Child's Play, a Seattle organization that buys video games and toys for hospitals in Canada and the United States, including Victoria General Hospital and B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver.

The players were staggered when they raised $22,000 in 2007, the event's first year. Last year the gamers raked in $70,000.

When they saw this year's sum, De Vere said, "we were absolutely blown away. We're shocked and speechless at the generosity of everyone."

De Vere was one of the comedy-group members supporting the players, who occasionally were able to hand the joystick over to a guest player.

"We were very excited to see more money coming in for the kids, but then the horror sinks in that we have to keep playing for another hour," De Vere said.

Money was also raised by auctioning prizes donated by corporate sponsors, such as signed video games, posters, artwork, DVDs and CDs.

"Silly" requests were taken in return for a donation -- one was to take four friends to see The Twilight Saga: New Moon, post live comments to Twitter and review it, a request that earned $750 from one donor.

Fundraising for this event has ended, but De Vere said anyone who still wants to donate can go to www.childsplaycharity.org. Learn more Desert Bus for Hope at www.desertbus.org.

jhatherly@tc.canwest.com