Quarrel is very novel word game brought to you by developers Denki and published by UTV Ignition.

In Quarrel, your objective is to defeat your opponent by solving anagrams or making words from these anagrams. It may sound a little simple or maybe even a little boring, however to make such an assumption is very wrong indeed!

Each game will see you face off head to head, or against a number of opponents with the aim of defeating them and taking over their plot of land. The 'combat' is turn based and you must decide which opponent, or plot of land to attack. To defeat them you must create words that score higher than they do, and do it in the fastest time possible. Letters are scored Scrabble style so you must choose your words and letters wisely. 
Sounds simple enough right? However its not as easy as that, you only have a limited number of 'troops' to create a word with.  You must use your turn to decide if you will attack an opponent or re-enforce your own plots of land. This can aid in defending or by raising your number of troops to attack with. More troops means more letters to create a word with, however to reinforce one area, is to leave another weakened.

A heady mix of strategy and word knowledge, Quarrel soon stands out as a very unique and quite addictive, fresh IP.

The game screen itself is colourful and vibrant, using simple, yet effective graphics to demonstrate the combat and word games that are played out on screen. A pleasant soundtrack and fun characters, the interface never becomes dull or boring for what is in effect, a very simple game. Helped by showing your own XBL avatar reacting to results of each move, constant fun facts about words and giving you the Dictionary description of each word made in combat, there is always something to keep your eyes interested.

A comprehensive tutorial allows you to fully understand how to play, which was very helpful and a worthwhile addition. You are then allowed to choose which game modes you play. From a quick match, domination or a knock out style tournament, you could play the game for 10 minutes or settle down for a couple of hours and test your word knowledge. The addition of four player multiplayer is also a great way to relax and have a bit of banter with friends over XBL.
Playing through the game modes, Quarrel soon has you testing your knowledge of the English language, as the difficulty increases the challenge becomes more enjoyable as you find yourself struggling for words. 
I'll admit, I cheated a little and at one point I had my family involved in helping me get  through some of my opponents. An unexpected, but very welcome bonus that this game has, is that others can get involved like that.

The only downside I found to this was that it was difficult to get into an online game with people on XBL, with long waiting times,however this did not seem like such an issue as the family involvement, the many game modes to try and the ability to play with your Xbox live party was enough to occupy my time.

With options for single player, multiplayer, leaderboards and achievements, there is something on offer for anyone who wants to shy away from shooting and explosions and simply wants some relaxing, fun entertainment.
Whilst on paper it seems like this is XBL's answer to RISK but with words, Quarrel is a family friendly, fun and most importantly, unique game that you can easily spend quite a long time on. 


Available to download now from the Xbox Live marketplace, if you like to challenge yourself mentally, as well as enjoy playing games on your console, then I can not recommend Quarrel enough.