You may punch like a puny weakling, but you’re certain that your finger flicks can inflict more pain on a person’s skin than anyone else’s. While you can prove it by trading finger flicks with your friends, the Punch King should let you prove your superiority without leaving your skin bruised and aching. Yeah, that’s not fun.
A miniature replica of those punching arcade games, the toy is designed to measure the force of your finger flicks, so you can put an exact number on it in comparison to the rest of your friends. No more arguing among yourselves about who hits harder. If you’re looking for a fun game that you can bust out while having beers in the bar, hanging out in a campsite, or just chilling with the family, this definitely looks like it can keep a small group entertained for a good amount of time.
The Punch King takes the likeness of those traditional punching games, with a punch bag mounted on a lever that you can aim your finger flicks towards. When it swings back, the punch bag on top of the lever presses a button, which then registers the amount of force you unleashed. Basically, the harder you flick, the more force it applies when pressing the button. Personally, we wish they added more resistance to the lever, so you’ll really have to hit it hard to register high marks, but it looks fun enough the way it is.
It has a pair of three-digit displays on the cabinet: a larger one showing your real-time score and a smaller one showing the current record. So yeah, the person who records the strongest flick will get their number plastered prominently on the darn thing, serving as a reminder to everyone else of their superior finger-flicking power. In case one of your friends sets the record, by the way, we have a feeling there’s a reset option here (maybe remove the batteries) that allows you to set everything to zero, so you can claim superiority once again.
The Punch King comes with two games modes: power and accuracy. Power simply measures the brute force behind your finger flicks, so it’s purely a test of strength, while accuracy challenges you to hit with a specific amount of force, so it requires a lot more finesse to get right. It comes with two decks of cards designed for the accuracy challenge – one where you draw the amount of force you have to aim for and one to determine what penalty you get for losing the round.
Do note: you will be tempted to punch this thing (it’s a miniature of a punching game, after all). Punching it, however, will likely break the darn thing or, at least, send it careening off the table, since we doubt it can handle the full brunt of a full swing. Suffice to say, it doesn’t look like it will hold up to that kind of force.
The Punch King is available from Firebox, priced at $26.99.