Quarrel

Quarrel plays like a cross between Risk and Scrabble.  The basic premise is that of Scrabble-form words to score points, with the higher scoring word determining the winner. And like Risk, there is a map, divided up into colored territories. Taking turns, each player selects a territory to attack. Once selected, the two players face off in a quick word game, where each player must spell the word worth the most points from a number of random letter tiles. Win and you take over your opponent’s territory.  Even better, beat an opponent with a larger army and you can take a prison of theirs, increasing your army further.

The number of letter tiles available to you is determined by the number of soldiers in your territory. Up to eight soldiers can be in one territory, so the biggest word you will ever be able to make would be an eight letter one. Likewise the smallest would be a two letter word.  While someone with fewer tiles may be able to beat a player with more tiles, it can be unlikely depending on how many tiles you have. After all, someone with six letters to choose from can probably make a word worth more points than someone with two letters. This can cause the game to become pretty lopsided at times, unless you are exceptional at word games. 

In addition to attacking each round, you can transfer soldiers from one territory to a neighboring one. So if one of your territories is next to an enemy’s territory, and it only has a couple troops in it, you can transfer more soldiers to the vulnerable territory and beef up its defense.  After each player’s turn they get an additional reinforcement troop for each territory.

All of this is wrapped in a fun, cartoony theme. Your soldiers for each match are randomly represented by pirates, robots, ninjas, Vikings and more. When a turn is decided, the winning soldiers use their word tiles as weapons against the enemy, then hop up and down in celebration. The defeated soldiers turn into angels and ascend from the island, never to be seen from again. The soldiers also seem to have the same disorder that Miis on the Wii have-floating hands disconnected from their bodies, and no legs. Add in the bright graphics and happy , mellow island music and you have a game that’s accessible to all ages.

Quarrel supports a domination mode, which is essentially a campaign mode consisting of 12 different islands. If you are playing single player there are nine different AI opponents to choose from, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.  There is also a quick match mode, which does exactly what it says, a tutorial which goes in-depth on how to play the game, and a challenge mode, which plays like a normal game but with bonus objectives in each match. This adds up to quite a few hours of gameplay in terms of single player alone. There is also the online multiplayer, where 1-4 people can play simultaneously. Support for Xbox Live Avatars is included for both on and offline play, so you will always see yourself represented as your avatar.

Quarrel certainly isn’t a perfect game by any means. The music, while relaxed and tropical, will eventually get on your nerves. There is also no local multiplayer. While this may seem obvious (after all, it would be easier to cheat), it seems like it would be a perfect party game to play with some friends. 

For 400 Microsoft points ($5 U.S.), you can’t get much more of a bargain than Quarrel. The single player alone will keep you occupied for a few hours, and the online component just adds value.

Jerry Kline, Noobfeed