Ball

Ball, alternatively named Juggle and Toss-Up, is the first Game & Watch game. It was released as part of the Silver series on April 28, 1980.

In Game & Watch Gallery 2, the player starts out with only the Classic version of Ball (unlike most Game & Watch games in the Game & Watch Gallery series). In order to unlock the Modern version, they first have to either obtain five stars on both modes in the Classic version or possess a star count of 25 or more. Easy Mode is based on Game A, and Hard Mode is based on Game B.

Classic
In Game A, a character tosses two balls in the air. As the balls fall, he must catch and toss them up again. The left and right buttons move the character in the respective direction. One point is earned for each successful catch. If a ball drops, it is displayed as a broken ball, and the player receives an instant Game Over. The goal is for the character to continuously juggle the balls. In Game B, the player must juggle three balls, and each successful catch yields ten points instead. In both modes, the maximum score is 999 points, and exceeding that number resets the score to zero.

Modern
The player starts out playing as Yoshi (depicted as a Light Blue Yoshi in the Game Boy Color version), but as they collect more stars, they can later play as Mario, then as Wario, and finally as King Koopa (who is represented by a K instead of a B), each more difficult than the last. The first mode has Yoshi juggling Yoshi Eggs. The Mario mode has the player juggling a Star, a Super Mushroom, and a heart, actually just like Mario the Juggler but with the Super Mushroom added. These items have varying arcs of flight as opposed to the fixed patterns of the eggs. The heart is also worth only two points as opposed to three. Wario's mode gives the player the same heart, the same Star, and a Wanderin' Goom to juggle. The objects have varying arcs of flight, and the Goom will occasionally fly offscreen. King Koopa's mode features a Koopa Shell, a Boo Buddy, and a Goomba to keep aloft. Like the Wanderin' Goom, the Goomba and shell will sometimes fly offscreen. The Boo Buddy will also occasionally stop while traveling across its arc. Like the heart, the Goomba and shell are worth only two points apiece.

The Yoshi and King Koopa variants of the Modern version of Ball have Bob-ombs that sometimes fly down from the sky, while the Mario variant has fireballs and the Wario variant has Spiked Balls. If a Bob-omb, fireball, or Spiked Ball hits one of the paddles, it will cause a Game Over too. At 100 points for Yoshi, 200 points for Mario, 300 points for Wario, and 400 points for King Koopa, coins will rain down from the sky. Touching the coins with the paddles rewards the player with bonus points. By getting all of the coins, the player receives a 20-point bonus as well.

Unlike in the Classic version, music is featured, with the tempo changing depending on the speed of the game.

Controls
These are the controls for the Game & Watch Gallery 2 version:


 * (left and right): Move
 * Move left
 * Move right

Alternate versions and re-releases

 * 1991 - A Mario-themed variation titled Mario the Juggler was released.
 * 1995 - Ball is one of the five games included in Game Boy Gallery.
 * 1997 - Ball is one of the six games included in Game & Watch Gallery 2, later ported to the Game Boy Color in 1998. The game features both the classic Game & Watch version and a Modern version featuring Mario characters.
 * 1998 - Ball is included as a minigame in the Game Boy Camera. A photograph can be posted over the face of the juggler.
 * 2005 - In Rakubiki Jiten DS, Ball is one of the Game & Watch titles to appear as a secret minigame. It can be played by typing "ball" into the dictionary, although gameplay is controlled from the Touch Screen instead of buttons.
 * 2009 - Ball was re-released as a DSiWare title.
 * 2010 - To celebrate the Game & Watch's 30th anniversary, the Ball Game & Watch units were reissued for the Club Nintendo rewards program. The Club Nintendo logo appears on the back of these units, which also include an option of muting the game by pressing the Time button during gameplay. These were first announced in Japan in November 2009, and were shipped to Platinum members in April 2010. In North America, the Ball units were made available since February 2011 for 1,200 coins. In Europe, they were released in November 2011 at a price at 7,500 stars.
 * 2011 - The DSiWare release of Ball was re-released on the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo 3DS.
 * 2020 - Another Mario-themed version of Ball was released, as part of Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., which replaces the main character with either Mario or Luigi.

References in later games

 * Game & Watch Gallery: Ball is featured in the Gallery Corner.
 * Super Smash Bros. series: Mr. Game & Watch's throws are a reference to Ball in that he juggles his opponents and tosses them in different directions.
 * Game & Watch Gallery 4: Similar to the first Game & Watch Gallery title, Ball is mentioned in the G&W History.
 * Pikmin 2: One of the treasures, the Dream Architect, is a Game & Watch unit of Ball.
 * WarioWare: Touched!: Ball appears as a microgame called Game & Watch Toss Up.
 * Game & Wario: Ball is featured in a microgame of the same name.
 * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: The juggler from Ball is featured as one of the spirits that can be obtained from the Spirit Board.

Trivia

 * In Game & Watch Gallery 2, one of the tips is inaccurate; Toad tells the player they have to catch the characters (the characters being Bob-ombs) and avoid the coins, when it is actually the other way around. This may have been an error in translation as the tip is accurate in the Japanese version.
 * In Game & Watch Gallery 2, Princess Peach was planned to be one of the playable characters in Modern Mode, with most of her graphical data still intact. In her variation, she was going to juggle cookies like those seen in Yoshi's Cookie.