Dr. Robotnik's Badnik Quarrel is an Arena Brawler in which up to eight teams battle against each other with characters from the Sonic The Hedgehog series. Each team is given four 'emeralds' that represent badniks that will fight in an arena during each round.

You must win rounds to score points for your team, which are used to purchase upgrades or randomize your badniks so that they have higher strength or health stats, and sometimes gain special fighting abilities that give them a distinct advantage over other monsters in the arena. There are also special mini games between rounds where players on each team must fight each other.