Noggin Knock

Noggin Knock
Appears in	Super Mario Party Jamboree
Type	Coin minigame
Time limit	60 seconds (Koopathlon) 180 seconds (Free Play)
Initial record	30
Music track	Don't Panic (Free Play)

Noggin Knock is a Koopathlon minigame in Super Mario Party Jamboree. It is based on the arcade game Whack-a-Mole, using figures of Monty Moles as a substitute for real moles. The Monty Mole heads used in this minigame are similar to those in Rhythm and Bruise from Super Mario Party.

Introduction

The player character is shown hitting a Monty Mole and then hitting a golden Monty Mole. Afterwards, the game begins.

Gameplay

The player starts the minigame in the middle of a game area with seven regular holes—five at the south and two on the left and right in the north—with an eighth, larger hole in the top center. Players can freely move around to spaces corresponding to each hole. Once the minigame starts, various objects pop in and out of these holes, and they must be hit with a hammer before they leave in order to receive their effects. Regular Monty Moles, which are the most common, yield one coin each. Golden Monty Moles appear more infrequently and require several hits to be knocked down, with a drop of five coins after being successfully knocked. Bob-ombs appear alongside Monty Moles, and if hit, Bob-ombs temporarily stun the player with no reward. After some time has passed in a given round, a large golden Monty Mole with a visible health bar of ten hit points appears in the top center hole of the area—when this occurs, the background Monty Mole opens its eyes in shock. Depleting the larger Monty Mole's health rewards 20 coins. In later rounds, spheres with Red Coins appear, giving three coins after one hit. If the Coin Bag item is used in this minigame, the Red Coins spawn in a regular space not occupied by the player; the same applies to any item box spawned during the minigame. When the Star item is used in this minigame, Golden Monty Moles appear out of every hole, including the large one, reappearing every time all of them are hit.

Like all other Koopathlon minigames, Noggin Knock is divided into three levels. The first level takes place in a yellow area, then red on the second, and blue for the third. On the first level, only the lower middle three holes and the larger top hole are open. On level two, the remaining two lower row holes are open. On level three, the top two regular holes are open, leaving all holes available. Red Coins appear only on levels two and three, and as the levels progress, Bob-ombs and golden Monty Moles become progressively more common.

Noggin Knock plays differently depending on the game mode. In Koopathlon, it is played one level at a time, with a player gathering coins to compete with other players. In the Free Play mode, it is instead played individually, with all three levels played in a row with the objective of obtaining the most coins. Only the Coin Bag and the Double Medal can be obtained in this variant. The player's largest number of coins obtained in the Free Play mode is saved, with a default score of 30 coins. Obtaining at least 300 coins in a single game of the Free Play version of Noggin Knock is required for the "Monty Mole Buster" achievement. Like in other Koopathlon minigames, high scores are tracked online and players can view the top rankings in the Party Plaza.

Controls

• – Move
• – Hammer

In-game text

Hammer the mechanical Monty Moles! Hitting Bob-ombs will cost you time.

Gallery

• 

  A large golden Monty Mole on the first level of difficulty

• 

  Level 2

• 

  Level 3

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	たたいて！メカチョロプー Tataite! Meka Choropū	Strike! Mecha Monty Moles
Chinese (simplified)	敲打！机器黄鼹鼠 Qiāodǎ! Jīqì Huáng Yǎnshǔ	Strike! Robot Monty Moles
Chinese (traditional)	敲打！機器黃鼴鼠 Qiāodǎ! Jīqì Huáng Yǎnshǔ	Strike! Robot Monty Moles
Dutch	Mollenmepmachine	Mole-smacking machine
French	Tape taupe mécanique	Mechanical Whack-a-Mole
German	Robo-Maulwurf-Randale	Robot mole riot
Italian	Martellomania	Hammer mania
Korean	두드려라! 메카쪼르뚜 Dudeuryeora! Meka Jjoreuttu	Strike! Mecha Monty Moles
Portuguese	Golpe de toupeira	Mole strike
Russian	По кротам Монти Po krotam Monti	On Monty Moles
Spanish	Topos Monty mecánicos	Mechanical Monty Moles

Notes

• Unlike in Rhythm and Bruise from Super Mario Party, which has a similar premise of hitting toy Monty Moles, the playable Monty Mole does not appear distressed at all when playing the minigame.

See also

• Whack-a-Monty
• Monty's Revenge
• Rhythm and Bruise