Head Waiter

Head Waiter is a Duel minigame found in Mario Party 5. Its name is a play on a word that refers to the supervisor of the dining room staff of a restaurant or hotel.

Gameplay
Players take turns tossing a Mini-Bowser bomb, similar to the bomb in Bowser's Bigger Blast, back and forth amongst themselves. The timer on the bomb starts at nine; players may count down either one or two numbers in an effort to avoid being the one to decrease the counter to zero. Once the timer drops three times, the numbers displayed change to question marks. At this point, the only way to tell whether the player's opponent has docked one or two numbers off the counter is to listen for the specific sound each option makes. On extremely rare occasions, the game may briefly reveal the current number on the bomb, or even reset the bomb counter. The losing player is the one who decreases the timer to zero or does not decrease the count by one or two within a five-second timer. Either way, the bomb (whose eyes' pupils turn into crosses) explodes and the minigame ends. When the bomb explodes, the character holding it is sent flying to the screen, which tilts because of the "impact," thus breaking the fourth wall.

Controls

 * – Decrease counter by 1
 * – Decrease counter by 2

In-game text

 * Rules – "Pass the Mini-Bowser bomb back and forth until it explodes. Try not to be the one holding it when it goes off."
 * Advice – "The counter eventually disappears, and this is where the strategy begins!"