Preferably with as little 1st mover advantage as possible. I've had several games basically lost before starting my 1st round, or basically won before my opponent started his. Those are not the most interesting games to play.

Wargear Warfare fits the bill, of course (even if a lucky initial map will decide occasionally there too) , but I'm sure there are lots of others here and would appreciate suggestions from more experienced players. 

Do you want a dueling specific board? There are dozens of those, but the vast majority are not Risk-like, and the game play may be very different from what you're used to. That said, I'm sure people will pipe in with their favorites if that's what you want.

The problem with finding a Risk-like board for duels is that there is, pretty much by definition, a first player advantage unless the designer specifically has sought to balance that out (which usually isn't a priority for risk-like boards). That said, you might try a larger board, since the large N of starting territories will tend to wash out the first-player advantage, I think.

Simulgear is the way to go to avoid the first player advantage.

Simulgear is the way to go to avoid the first player advantage.

Are you looking for more standard Risk-style play, or are you willing to consider boards that are designed for two players?

I was aiming for more standard Risk-style play, yes.

It's not very difficult to counter 1st mover advantage if someone sets out to do so. Let the 1st player start off with just half a bonus. Sort of like a tiebreak in tennis where 1st to serve just gets one, then they alternate with two. But I guess noone implemented that idea anywhere?

As for dueling specific board or Simulgear, I'm not sure which ones they are....still fairly green around here :)

And as for larger boards, I feel they are more prone to 1st mover advantage. The more initial units you get, the bigger the advantage. Plus, colossal boards tend to give you some bonus areas for free on your 1st turn and you can then wipe away your opponent's. Like on World War. 93 territories is quite big, but the last game I played there was decided by the draw, basically. I got 1st and won. My opponent was gifted all of South America and would no doubt have won if he got to start. A pity, since I otherwise enjoy this board very much.

So, one designer feature that can go a long way toward mitigating the first player advantage is the ability to place progressive limits on first round bonuses.  I.e. the first two players get one unit, the next two get two, and so on..  Many board designers do not avail themselves of this feature and as a result, most boards favor early round players.  I pretty much use the feature on all of my boards if I think there's an advantage.  Unfortunately, I don't make many 'standard-style' boards - with the possible exception of Fall of Rome.  Bottom line, it can be done, though it's much more difficult when there are only two players. 

Agree with M, but there are several designers which use the starting bonus feature. Kjeld, Nygma, myself and several others. Still, I think we do ourselves a disservice by not having new folks try out simulgear. Several of our best players who have moved on or retired were heavy simulgear players and I think we should promote that playstyle, especially for folks that like dueling boards.

Give me an example of a simulgear board you think is easier to learn for a newbie and I'll try it. I still have no idea what it is, but I'm open to new experiences and don't mind a loss or two as long as the games are interesting.

In fact, Spy vs Spy could easily convert to simulplay.

Rohan is a simple one.

Thanks Thingol :) I'm sure I'm off to a losing start but I could see myself taking to this kind of play.

My Kingdom and Kursk would also be decent for simulgear dueling.

Simple World is a basic world map in the style of generic Risk that includes scenarios specifically for 1v1:

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Simple+World

I really got into simulgear with Axis and Allies. Or Axis V Allies - 3 on 3

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Axes+and+Allies

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Axis+V+Allies+3v3

It's big enough that you can use all the features. You have to attack from multiple directions, it matters where your fortify and don't, and stats and dice mods become important.

I also have had a ton of fun on Lord of the Gears. -not so sure it would be fun as a duel however.

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Lord+of+the+Gears

There are a whole bunch of really great games on this site. Just take some time and explore the options. A lot of people have put a lot of time into creating some awesome games, but I feel like they're under-appreciated because most people just come here and play Wargear Warfare. 

 Here's a list of some of my favorite dueling boards (and a couple that I haven't played, but hear are fun). You can always check if a board is balanced or not by looking at the charts on the board page.

Kind of Risk-Like:

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Circles+of+Death - Pretty fun board IMO, but a lot of people don't like all the neutral bashing

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Baseball - Quick and easy to understand

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Battle+of+Waterloo - Haven't played this, but it's pretty popular...or was for a while...haven't seen it recently

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Battle+of+Bladensburg - Same with this one

Not Risk-Like at all:

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Dolmabahce+Sarayi - One of my favorite boards, but it doesn't really see much play. I don't really like the fixed start scenario, but the Player Choice and Random starts are pretty fun

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Wizard%27s+Duel - Pretty fun, though I'm awful at it

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/whittle+%27em+down - Make boxes to win the game

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Steal+the+Bacon - This game is weird. First to take and hold the bacon wins...but if you take it too early then your opponent can steal it for the win

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Pong - Just a slow moving game of Pong, but you have to guess where the ball will be and try to send it back

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Hex - Simple game of Hex

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Finite+State+Machine - Pretty complicated mechanics, but if you have the time and patience (and an opponent with the same) to learn how it works, then it can be fun. It's basically a game of Snake

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Dungeon+Quest - Collect items to win based on your hero

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Spy+vs+Spy - Try to block your opponent, while aiming to take out their capital...do you attack? Play defensively? It's a great dueling board. Lot's of things to think about during this game

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Gunslinger - Grab items for bonus bullets. Kill your opponent's player for the win

Simul-gear:

http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/Rockem+Sockem - Classic. Kill your opponent's head for the win

And of course we're all still waiting (or at least I am) for Edward Nygma to release his epic Stellar Conflict board http://www.wargear.net/boards/view/6857...just sayin'...maybe you should hurry up with that Ed...

...Iwo Jima is a great duel board too...

Olypics.....simple world......anarchy.....

Invention is pretty good for risk-like 2-player. It has 56% to 43% for seat 1 vs seat 2. WGWF has 60% to 38%. CC has 65% to 33%. Not looking good for bigger boards.