Every two weeks, we weigh in on our favorite selections on Xbox Live's indie channel. These are not Microsoft-approved games. They're created by everyone from the average Joe to upstart game companies, and reviewed by users like you.

One is a zen-like game about creating a tree. One is a beautiful, abstract fencing game. Another sees its players fighting physically to win. In another of 2011's Independent Game Festival Nuovo Award nominees, you play as a dictator's cat.