Gamer
- This article is about the minigame in Game & Wario. For the stage in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, see Gamer (stage).
Gamer is 9-Volt and 18-Volt's minigame in Game & Wario, for Wii U. The game is played using the 
's buttons. A stage based on the minigame makes an appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, also called Gamer. 5-Volt makes an appearance as a stage hazard.
Gamer returns in WarioWare Gold as a stage in Challenge Mode, this time under the name Sneaky Gamer. The microgame Mole also reappears in the game.
Story
Playing with their new console, 9-Volt and 18-Volt compete to find out who gets the high score in the game and 9-Volt wins. During 9-Volt's celebration (and 18-Volt's despair), 5-Volt takes the console from them and orders them to do their homework. After some time, 9-Volt and 18-Volt are done and get eager to play again. 5-Volt gives the console back, revealing she had beaten her son's score by a wide margin, making him shocked.
Gameplay
There are two modes in the minigame. Both involve the characters playing a modified version of Balloon Fight containing microgames, called Balloon Fighter.
9-Volt
In this mode, the player must help 9-Volt to win microgames and avoid letting 5-Volt know that he is playing during his bedtime. She will constantly look into his bedroom to see if he is sleeping, forcing the player to hide and pause the game. through his door to see if he is sleeping, forcing the player to hide and pause the game. The Wakey Meter[1] displays the amount of time 9-Volt can stay awake; hiding with good timing (indicated by a Great!) will prevent any meter loss, and in Endless Mode it restores a small portion of the meter. The game ends if the player fails to hide their game from 5-Volt, the Wakey Meter runs out, or if they lose all chance balloons.
5-Volt will open the door and look into the room, which is signaled by her humming a song (e.g. the "Underground" theme from Super Mario Bros., or else the sound of footsteps and the door handle jiggling. She may also walk by the window, opening the second half that she stops by, or even pop out from the TV. If the player receives at least 1000 points in level 1, 2, or 3, they will achieve Gamer status. If they score at least 30 points in the Endless level, they will also achieve Gamer status. Achieving Gamer status rewards the player with a coin for the Cluck-A-Pop.
Levels
- Level 1: There is only one distraction: instead of 5-Volt, a cat may quickly open the door.
- Level 2: There are a few more distractions, including a shadow puppet and other fake-outs appearing on the TV, and an old man with a wig that will walk by 9-Volt's window open it (the wig will appear loose and fall off beforehand). The distractions can now occur alongside real instances of 5-Volt. She may open the door multiple times in a row, with the last time possibly being the cat instead. 5-Volt can also fake the player out by walking offscreen past the window, then doubling back and opening it. The television will also turn on and cycle through up to three different programs, with 5-Volt possibly coming out from the last of them to try and catch 9-Volt. In Sneaky Gamer, 5-Volt may either walk near 9-Volt's window like normal, or else walk faster, only to suddenly break it open, giving the player less time to hide.
- Level 3: In this level, it contains all the distractions that were in Level 2, along with a few additional scenarios to look out for. When the old man walks by 9-Volt's window, he may bump into 5-Volt, who might then open it. 5-Volt also walks by the window and slowly goes down; then, either she will come up and open the window, or a pair of upside-down legs will appear and move away. Her handprints may also appear at the window before she opens it, hanging upside down, in an attempt to catch 9-Volt awake. 5-Volt may also stay in 9-Volt's room after attempting to catch him, keeping her eyes on him as a tense score plays before sitting to watch television shows briefly. She will look back at 9-Volt a few times during this; should the TV flip to a test pattern, she will become restless and rush over to his bed, trying to catch him in the act. Eventually, she will turn off the TV and watch 9-Volt's bed intently as she leaves, with the cat opening the door for her. In Sneaky Gamer, 5-Volt can appear by lifting up the TV; this is indicated by the entire set shaking. The door will also occasionally open on its own. In Sneaky Gamer, Mr. Sparkles may appear on or lift the TV instead of 5-Volt, and Fronk may open the door as well as the cat and 5-Volt.
- Endless: This level is at the same difficulty as Level 3, contains all the same distractions along with several new ones, and will continue until the player loses all of their chance balloons, 5-Volt sees 9-Volt, or 9-Volt falls asleep. A cat may now pop out of the TV before running back in. 5-Volt may change her walk speed while outside; she might also pass by the window or double back towards it at a high speed before opening it. 5-Volt will often do so multiple times in the same pass, though the last one might be the old man instead. Also, after entering 9-Volt's room and watching TV, 5-Volt may fall asleep instead of entering and running towards 9-Volt's bed and checking on him; the player can see a bubble appear when she does, though she can wake up suddenly. Rarely, 5-Volt may jump into the room through the window with little warning, then watch him for a good amount of time. A Cluck-A-Pop coin may drop onto the console and appear in a microgame, which the player can claim by tapping it. In Sneaky Gamer, many actions such as 5-Volt opening the windows repeatedly are accompanied by a scare chord.
18-Volt
In this mode, 18-Volt is playing the console. This mode is very similar to WarioWare games, without specific time and with three difficulty levels for microgames, only ending when the player loses all four chance balloons.
Levels
- Normal: If the player scores 40 points or more, they will achieve Gamer status.
- Ultra Speed: From the beginning, the games go very fast. If the player scores 20 points or more, they will achieve Gamer status.
- Hardcore: At the start, the player begins with one chance balloon left and all microgames are set to their hardest difficulty. If the player scores 10 points or more, they will achieve Gamer status.
Microgames
Game & Wario
Each of these microgames can be played individually without facing any threats from 5-Volt by obtaining them from the Cluck-A-Pop machine. They are represented by orange capsules and take up spots 59-80 in the capsule collection.
- Gold Digger
- Sole Man
- Mole
- Break!
- Rollout
- Spotlight
- Super Fly Swatter
- Dinosaur
- Eye Exam
- Ball (G&W)
- Samurai Slice
- Matryoshka
- Fake Out
- Dachshund
- Bananas
- Fish
- Loose Tooth
- Allergy Attack
- Transform!
- Homeward
- Record Guy
- BOSS: Windbag
WarioWare Gold
All of the microgames featured in the WarioWare Gold version of Gamer are part of the Mash League.
- Super Wario Bros.
- Body Block
- Munch a Bunch
- Goal in One
- Wario Whirled
- Off-Fence
- Close Call
- Mole
- Gold Digger
- Down & Outie
- Sloppy Salon
- Rugby
- Tip the Scale
- Mug Shot
- Extreme Patty-Cake
- Electric Groove Fish
- Cavity Calamity
- Cover Up
- The Brush Off
- Ocarina of Time
- Yoshi's Island
- Game & Watch: Manhole
- Diddly Squat
- Gravitational Pull
- Right of Way
- Hover for Cover
- No Solicitors
- Eye Spy
- Arrow Space
- Bug Birdie
- Worm Squirm
- Word Up
- LV 1 BOSS Nail Call
- LV 2 BOSS One Hit Wonder
- LV 3 BOSS Punch Out
Controls
Game & Wario
/ 
: Do microgame actions
+ 
or 
+ 
: Hide game
WarioWare Gold
/ 
: Do microgame actions
+ 
: Hide game
Description
"I'm 9-Volt! Can you play video games AND avoid my mom's evil stare? I made this game to show everyone how annoying she is!"
Hi, I'm 9-Volt! I just got the new super-popular portable game BALLOON FIGHTER! I'm kinda bummed right now because my mom beat my high score, so I'm staying up past my bedtime to get it back! She keeps coming by to check on me, though, so I have to pretend to be asleep...which is actually making me kinda sleepy.
I'm determined to beat the boss today. When my mom comes by, hide the system, OK? I never cause trouble, so she won't check on me too...I don't think. (Score 1000+ points to achieve Gamer status!)
My mom's been coming by more often lately. I think she knows I'm being sneaky and staying up to play games. But that won't stop me. I have to beat a really hard boss today! (Score 1000+ points to achieve Gamer status!)
I really wanna beat the final boss tonight! But my mom's getting pretty crazy about checking on me... I wish she'd be cool and just leave me alone! (Score 1000+ points to achieve Gamer status!)
I think I've figured out my mom's patrol pattern, so tonight I'm gonna stay up all night! If I'm really good at hiding, I'll barely lose any energy. (Score 30+ points to achieve Gamer status!)
18-Volt here! I'm 9-Volt's best friend. My mom's always out, so I can play video games whenever I want. I'm really into BALLOON FIGHTER right now. Ever heard of it?
This version of BALLOON FIGHTER is fast right from the start and super hard. It'll really get your adrenaline pumping! (Score 20+ points to achieve Gamer status!)
The Hardcore version of BALLOON FIGHTER is only for advanced players. The game speed is normal, but if you make a single mistake, it's game over! (Score 10+ points to achieve Gamer status!)
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| French | Gamer (Game & Wario) Gamer furtif (Gold) |
- Stealthy gamer |
| Spanish | Gamer (Game & Wario) A escondidas (Gold) |
- On the quiet |
Trivia
- The Dinosaur microgame appears to be based off of an iconic scene from the film Jurassic Park.
- In Gamer, A Virtual Boy can be seen next to the television; Sneaky Gamer replaces it with a Wii U.
References
- ^ "If 9-Volt pretends to sleep when 5-Volt's not around, you'll drain your Wakey Meter. When the Wakey Meter reaches 0, 9-Volt falls asleep for real, and you lose the game!" - WarioWare Gold instructions for Sneaky Gamer
