Spike Strike

Spike Strike is a boss minigame in Mario Party 9.

Introduction
The players are on a lava flow, standing near the bottom of a stone platform with four ramp-like slopes. A couple of seconds later, Spike drops on the round top of the platform and spits out a Spike Ball at the top of each ramp.

Gameplay
The players must pick one of the objects shown on the screen to defend themselves from Spike's spiked balls. For the first round, the number of hammers and branches to choose from can vary, depending on how many players are present; in a 2-player game, there will be one normal hammer, one gold hammer, and three branches; in a 3-player game, there will be two normal hammers, one gold hammer, and two branches; in a 4-player game, there will be three normal hammers, one gold hammer, and one branch. However, as Spike's health drops, there can be occasions where there's one hammer less than the number of players that are present.

If players choose a regular hammer, they will bat the spiked ball back at Spike and earn one point. The golden hammer has the same effect, but gives the player three points. If the players end up picking a branch, or does not end up choosing anything before the allotted time is spent, the projectile will flatten their characters, costing them a point.

When Spike's health reaches its midway point, the lava will rise, forcing the players to move closer to Spike, and giving them less time to choose an item. Additionally, there will always be at least one hammer less than the number of players for each round. When Spike's health is very low, the selectable items may be reduced to one gold hammer, one normal hammer, and three branches. There can also be cases where no gold hammers are present.

Ending
The Spike falls down to the ground and disappears revealing Mini Stars.