What is a Quibble? Surely every one of us has pondered this age old question at least once in our short lives, only to bring up more unanswered questions and further speculation. We may have asked ourselves, are they related to Tribbles? Are they domesticated? Is it possible to race them for high stake gambling purposes? Now, thanks to Blackeye Software, another one of life's great mysteries has been answered:

"Quibbles are the small and green, domesticated animals of the future. Many live as household pets, while others are treated as mere beasts of burden. Still others are trained to race for the betting enjoyment of half the galaxy. It is these quibbles, which comprise a kind of futuristic horse-racing, that this game is about."

Quibble Race is a futuristic horse-racing and betting simulation game that puts the player in the role of a professional gambler. Before you start the game, you can configure the options to your own personal preferences. After you have that all set up, you are presented with three rather hideous gamblers to select as either human or AI controlled. Before the race begins each player takes his/her turn to place a bet, visit the loan shark or perform some other tasks.

At the top of the screen you will see information such as whose turn it is and how much cash is available. Three randomly selected quibbles are presented at the left of the screen and information such as their name, win percentage and races run is also displayed. If one of the quibbles has a sponsor, the sponsor's name will also be included in the quibble's statistics. When you are ready to place your bet, select the quibble you are interested in and choose the amount you wish to place. After that's settled, simply click "done" to end your turn.

As mentioned earlier, you can borrow money from your local shark with $1000 being the maximum you can take. However, you do have to pay it back with interest (whatever percentage you have set) and if your debt reaches $2000, don't expect to be borrowing any more money. There is also the Special option to consider, which gives you the option to improve your chances prior to the race through either legal or illegal means. In my opinion, this is where the real fun is. You can train, cripple, drug, guard and even go as far as killing a quibble to improve your odds. If you're caught tampering with a quibble you will have to pay a fine.

Also, if you have enough funds you can choose to sponsor and train up to three quibbles. If one of your sponsored quibbles races you will earn a sum equal to its win percentage or a $100 cut of the prize money if it wins. You can also buy information on projected rankings and betting placements if you want to be sneaky. After the players have taken their turns and the specials take effect simultaneously, the race begins. Three quibbles (or less, if someone has been evil) race down a short horizontal track. At the top of the screen you will see the three gamblers and their bets. Your winnings depend on how many people placed winning bets (you compete against 12 other invisible gamblers).

I'm fairly fond of this game and I would definitely recommend people to play it with mates; there is nothing like permanently crippling one of your friend's sponsored quibbles. However, I wish there was a little bit more put into presentation. The graphics are pretty basic, not visually insulting, but nothing spectacular and the game is entirely devoid of both sound and music. It's not an entirely original concept, either, and possibly could have introduced more fresh ideas. Still, it's a great killer of time, very addicting, and in my opinion, worth a download.

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