Duel Masters

Duel Master is an unpublished 1986 game by M. Labruyère.

the initial setup

The rules:

• Each player starts with three pieces on her home base.
  
• At her turn, the player drops three friendly pieces on empty intersections
• Each intersection must be connected by a chain of friendly pieces to the player's base
  
• Pieces can also be played on top of a single enemy piece, occupying its place; this move blocks the enemy's chain/branch at that position
• These stacks of two pieces cannot be interacted again
  
• Wins the player that connects the two starting positions
  

This is a very interesting connection game with a stack-capturing theme. The rules are not explicit if all three pieces are dropped simultaneously, or in sequence (which means, the second dropped piece could be adjacent only to the first). I would suggest the second option, making the game more dynamic.

Here's the review of Duel Master in Jeux et Stratègie #41:

The review is quite negative due to the apparent lack of drama the game seems to have. I would suggest that this is just relevant at a beginner's level. Movements without proper support will result in a quick defeat.

There's a newer interation: O'ling published in 2005 and designed by Pascal Nivesse,

At Escale à Jeux there's the following interesting remark:

Paul Lequesne, who enjoys delving into Russian literature [...] points out that O'ling, like Duel Masters, is directly derived from a traditional Russian game: the Клоподавка (Bedbug Mash).

We already mention Клоподавка (a pencil and paper game) here at the blog.