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
9-Volt and 18-Volt play a game on their new console, competing to find out who gets the high score in the game. As 9-Volt wins and celebrates while 18-Volt is in shock, 5-Volt takes the console from them and orders them to do their homework. After some time, 9-Volt and 18-Volt finish, eager to play again. 5-Volt gives the console back, and 9-Volt is shocked to discover she had beaten her son's score by a wide margin.
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. 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 the sound of her footsteps and the door handle jiggling or, in Sneaky Gamer, her humming the "Underground" theme or the "Overworld" theme from Super Mario Bros.. She may also walk by the window, signaled by a scary sound, opening the second half that she stops by, or even pop out from the TV, signaled by the static display of 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 a few distractions: a cat may quickly open the door (in Sneaky Gamer, Fronk may also do it, too, besides the cat), the TV displays a shadow hand puppet or turns on and shows a static display for a brief time and then off, and the door may open just a bit by itself.
- Level 2: A few more 5-Volt's techniques and distractions are added. An old man with a wig that will walk by 9-Volt's window and open it (the wig is loose and falls off beforehand). The distractions can now occur alongside real instances of 5-Volt. She may open the door three times in a row, with the last time possibly being the cat instead. 5-Volt can also fake the player out by opening the window to check 9-Volt and walking offscreen past the window, then walk back and opening it again. The television can 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. The television can turn on and show a test pattern for a brief time and then turn off. 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. 5-Volt also walks by the window and slowly sinks down; then, either she comes up and open the window, or a pair of upside-down legs appears and moves away.
- Level 3: There are further additional scenarios to look out for in addition to the previous ones. Mr. Sparkles can now appear on the TV's screen. When the old man walks by 9-Volt's window, he may bump into 5-Volt, who might then open the window. 5-Volt can also jump out of the TV and stay in 9-Volt's room after certain attempts to catch him; a tense score plays when she is keeping her eyes on him. She may sit down and watch TV for a brief period of time. Then turn off the TV and look back at 9-Volt and walk to the door, with the cat opening the door for her. Should the TV flip to a test pattern, she becomes restless and rush over to his bed, trying to catch him in the act. Eventually, she runs back to the spot she was sitting at to stare at the TV for a little and then turn it off the TV and watch 9-Volt intently as she leaves, with the cat opening the door for her. In Sneaky Gamer, 5-Volt can appear by lifting up the table with the TV; this is indicated by the entire table shaking before it is lifted to reveal her or Mr. Sparkles. Her handprints may also appear at the window before she opens it, hanging upside down, in an attempt to catch 9-Volt awake. Another distraction added is the entire table shaking and then stops without being lifted.
- Endless: This level is at the same difficulty as Level 3 and contains all of 5-Volt's techniques to catch 9-Volt and the same distractions along with several new techniques 5-Volt uses; the level continues until the player loses all of their chance balloons, 5-Volt catches 9-Volt gaming, or 9-Volt falls asleep. After the TV switches two channels, a cat may now pop out of the TV before running back in. 5-Volt may change her walk speed while going by the window outside, including when she doubles back to open it. 5-Volt often opens the window multiple times in the same pass, accompanied by a scare chord when she runs to the window; similar to the door, the last person to open it might be the old man instead. Also, after 5-Volt tries to catch 9-Volt on his bed, she may fall asleep; the player can see a snot bubble appear when she does, though she can wake up suddenly. Then she runs to the window and jump out of there; in Sneaky Gamer, she does not do that, instead, she runs back to the spot she was sitting at and then look back at 9-Volt and walk to the door. In Sneaky Gamer, 5-Volt may slowly open the door to catch 9-Volt. In Sneaky Gamer, rarely, after the scare chord plays, 5-Volt may jump into the room through the window, then uses the same techniques to catch 9-Volt when she jumps out of the TV. A Cluck-A-Pop coin may drop onto the console and appear in a microgame, which the player can claim by tapping it.
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.
Rewards
These scores are based on levels 1-3 only. Scores for other modes are based on microgames encountered.
- Health points remaining: 10 points
- Chance balloons remaining: 100 points
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
Game & Wario
"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 is the hit game BALLOON FIGHTER! 9-Volt's mom is super strict, so it's hard for him to get very far. He should just come over here to play! (Score 40+ points to achieve Gamer status!)
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!)
WarioWare Gold
Hey, you guys! 9-Volt here! I love to play games right before I got to bed. Too bad my mom doesn't approve. Could you keep watch for me? Controls: Mash
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
