Ian Nelson
United States
chattanooga
Tennessee
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First off let me begin by saying what a wonderful site! So much information, it's been a ride to try and take it all in at once. This site and its community have already been such a great resource, and I have only been messing about for a week
Now to the meat of the thread. My wife and I have recently decided to look into gaming as a way of spending time together. I am a gamer of many years, growing up on RISK and A&A, and moving onto time spent in D&D, Warhammer, and more Magic: The Gathering than I care to admit. As I grew older I moved more into computer gaming,as friends moved away, or schedules just didn't permit. I am convinced my wife would have the same background if only someone had told her. She is a closet geek, and over the course of our relationship has developed a growing interest in "the ways". Recently we realized that our time spent together playing World of Warcraft is hardly as quality as it should be, and I have convinced her it is time to get into something more face to face. The biggest hurdle to overcome is her gaming background (besides video games) consists primarily of card games such as Rummy and Skipbo. While such things have their place in life, I am hoping to reach a more happy medium 
As stated previously, the information provided here has already been a great help. But now I would ask for something a little bit more personal. If you would be so kind as to recommend games that would fit our personal interests, it would be greatly appreciated. While I have come across some great articles here, there are SO many games, and just not enough money to go around.
With the information gathered it seemed Carcassonne was a safe bet. I quickly ordered a copy of Hunters & Gatherers. It arrived earlier this evening, and seemed to go over rather well for both of us. We also picked up a copy of Blue Moon at a local games store.It was very well recieved by the both of us, and we already plan on ordering an expansion deck or two in the very near future.
The main question is where to go from here? If you would be so kind as to help, please consider the following:
1) My wife is not overly experienced in gaming, and far from approaching gaming in a "serious" manner. Easy to learn and quick to play are a huge plus. Of course, with hopes of moving ever deeper down the rabbit hole.However she is open-minded, and a fan of fantasy.
2) Our main focus is on 2 player games, though I do have various friends and family I would like to suck in as well. Needs to play good with 2, the ability to add 1 or 3 more is great. (If there is one "must have" recommendation that would fill the multiplayer void, I would love to hear it)
3) Theme is a plus, but not a must. I am all for minis, and I think quality pieces can make a big difference for newcomers. All I had to do was show my wife a picture and tell her it was called a "meeple" and she was in love.
4) Variety. It would be nice to have a foundation of 5 or 6 games that play differently. Then build from there.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Just going on what I have read, our next purchases would be (no particular order, after number one):
1) Memoir '44
this one is almost completely selfish. I love wargames, and from what I have read it is one where she would have a good chance of winning, which is very important to me.
2) Lost Cities (or Battle Line?)
cards are popular all around, and this sounds like one I could play some with the other woman in my life: my mother.
3) Mall of Horror (apologies if title is off)
zombie love is prevalent with us and our siblings/friends. Looked at the box at a local store, and seems to be pretty high quality.
4) Settlers of Catan
doesn't fit the 2player criteria from what I know, but this is a name I have heard over and over in the course of my life. sounds like a great multi
5) Lord of the Rings
my brother is over a lot, and would be the most likely to sit in on a game. This seems good with two or three, and we are all fans of the novels.
6) Zoo Sim
something about this rings instant hit with my wife, maybe not so much for me though
If I had my wish, War of the Ring and Descent would already be on a truck headed to my house, but in due time maybe? My fingers are crossed !
Thanks so much in advance, and apologies for the wall o text. Some are blessed with good lucks and brevity. The rest of us are just outta luck I guess.
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Neil Palfreyman
United Kingdom
Swindon
Wiltshire
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Welcome to BGG.
Here's a few games that my wife will play with me and which also play both 2 and multi-player pretty well:
Blue Moon City (same theme but different game to card game)
Ticket to Ride
San Juan
Alhambra
Puerto Rico (with 2 player variant)
Blokus
St Petersburg
Have fun!
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Euron Crows Eye
England
Bolton
Lancashire
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Memoir is great , but as your wife likes fantasy , wait a month and buy Battle Lore ( same game - diff theme)
And I cant see whats stopping you buying War of the Ring now - its a great game and really isnt to heavy , as long as your up to scratch with the rules before you introduce it to her.
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michael dorazio
United States
tyngsboro
Massachusetts
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War of the Ring is a must. I've only played it five times, but it is a favorite already. You both enjoy fantasy, you love wargames, it has great components, it plays in three hours (after you're familiar with it), the rules are easy to follow, tons of theme, and it's got hobbits! I really think that this game will show your lady what the hobby can offer. Do a solo run to get the game mostly down before you attempt the real deal. You want a smooth first play to avoid leaving a bad impression. Just make a ruling on the spot if you're not sure of something. Check back here for answers after the game. Can't stress enough what a perfect fit this would be for your situation. I think that after Carc and Blue Moon you could use a game with more theme and a larger scope.
In addition to War of the Ring:
Settlers of Catan - great multiplayer with lots of player interaction
Battle Line - twenty five minutes and significantly better than Lost Cities due to the room for strategy
Samurai - my favorite Knizia design. Works well with two and three.
These three are fairly typical recommendations, but I think that's for good reason. They have small rulesets and continue to be a blast for tons of people. Good luck.
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Chris Okasaki
United States
White Plains
New York
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First off, based on WoW and Blue Moon, I'm assuming that you both are comfortable with games that involve "take that" elements.
Lots of games in the Kosmos 2-player line are very good. And they'll stack very nicely with Blue Moon, delaying the time when the storage issue becomes a problem. My favorite of the line is Kahuna. Other good ones include die Pyramiden des Jaguar (may be hard to find), Jambo, Balloon Cup, and Odin's Ravens, all of which play very differently from each other.
Given the interest in Lord of the Rings, LOTR: The Confrontation seems like a natural fit. Other games that play well with two players and that might appeal based on the fantasy theme are Return of the Heroes and Descent: Journeys in the Dark. And maybe Fearsome Floors, although it's a very different kind of game.
You said "Lost Cities (or Battle Line?)". I'd recommend Lost Cities to begin with, as it's easier to learn and quicker to play. Later, if you both like the kinds of tension that come with Lost Cities (desperately not wanting to play *any* of your cards yet but having to pick one anyway), then move on to Battle Line/Schotten Totten. Actually, I prefer Schotten Totten to Battle Line because I don't like the tactics cards, but feelings are split.
Other good 2-player card games include San Juan, Phoenix, and Cribbage.
The "10 Days in..." series works great for 2 and expands comfortably up to 4. I recommend the Africa version, but any of them are probably ok.
If you are enjoying the tile laying aspects of Carcassonne, you might enjoy Oceania as a faster, 2-player tile-laying game. (And then if you like Oceania, you can move on to Entdecker.)
Empire Builder (and the rest of the crayon rail games) work very well with two players, but may take longer than you want at this point.
Zoo Sim/O Zoo le Mio is a good game, although maybe better with 3 than with 2. A similar game to consider is Alhambra.
If word games are appealing, Wordsearch and Word Thief work well for two (and handle more comfortably).
If you like deduction, Old Town or Jotto might be good choices.
If you like dexterity games at all, Crokinole is the king around here (although I haven't tried it yet). Tumblin' Dice is a new one that is a blast.
If you like geometric/spatial thinking, somebody already said Blokus. I don't like regular Blokus at all for 2 (although it's great with 4), but I've heard good things about Travel Blokus for 2. GemBlo and Rumis may be other ones to consider.
Finally, here are some thinly-themed abstracts that work well with 2 and comfortably expand to handle more: Attika, Hey! That's My Fish, Through the Desert, Samurai. I'll throw the action-point games like Tikal and Java in here as well.
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Walt
United States
Orange County
California
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Sweet! If she's used to card games, I'd say start from there: Circus Flohcati, Lost Cities (bit of a disappointing theme there), maybe Bohnanza (for 2?), the Settler's card game--designed for two. Next do semi-card games: Blue Moon City (gorgeous game!), Alhambra, Cleopatra and the Society of Architects--the two player rules aren't as good as multiplayer, since no one gets fed to the crocodiles, but it's got pretty much every Eurogame mechanic and some more in it, while remaining easy to play. Next, if Cleo hasn't pointed you somewhere else, do games with cards (but not card games) and game with things a lot like cards: Thurn & Taxis, Ticket to Ride Europe, Ra, maybe Trans America or Trans Europa as a filler.
After that, maybe try something heavier, like Goa or Caylus.
I suggest staying away from heavies like Puerto Rico, E&T, or Caylus--initially. I feel San Juan has little to recommend it besides being PR-light.
Stay away from war games, confrontational games, or games with a lot of screwage: it's just US cultural training for women to not like these games, at least initially.
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Your list sounds good to me, although I haven't played Mall of Horror and ZooSim
Here are some others to consider.
Ticket to Ride
San Juan
Saint Petersburg
Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation
Samurai
Cartagena
Fjords
Jambo
Ra, with 2 player variant
Tikal
Ingenious
Citadels
Thurn and Taxis
Through the Desert
Hey! That's My Fish
War of the Ring is a long game with tons of rules.
Settlers can be played with 2 player variant. The Settlers of Zarahemla version includes 2 player rules.
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All the young people out there can feel the energy
United States
Orange County
California
Nothing to see here. Move along.
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All of the recommendations are great (especial Mark Christiansen's above--he and I have very similar gaming tastes).
I just have two more games to suggest. Because of the Rummy background of your wife, look into a MYSTERY RUMMY (probably Jack the Ripper). It's a fun game and has that rummy feel, but is much, much better.
Also, look into JAMBO. I'm still hoping Blue Moon will click with me, but Jambo has been what I was expecting Blue Moon to be. It's yummy, 2-player goodness. (Ok, I see Mark mentioned Jambo too--see, we really do like the exact same games [except Hey! That's My Fish--I don't know what you see in that one, Mark]).
I'm just saying,
goo
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Tom Hancock
United States
Charleston
West Virginia
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Wow: Reading your post sounds like something I could have written about a week ago. I'm in the process of trying to ease my wife into gaming, and it sounds like you and I have similar tastes.
Regarding Settlers of Catan: There is a fantastic two player variant out there, but it requires the seafarers expansion. http://www.geocities.com/dave65tdh/settlers.html thats the URL for this variant. It was a big hit with my wife, although it takes a little longer to play than your usual settlers game. Also, its worth having settlers since it is great to play when your non-gamer friends come over.
War of the Ring: let me also recommend you get this and try it. The rules are not as bad as people say and the game plays quick for what it is. Most folks have played risk or A&A, and WotR is just a step up from those in complexity. If your wife is a fan of the books and likes beautiful games, she will put up with the little bit of added complexity in return for these things. Plus, the gameplay is a lot of fun. My wife didn't even say anything about the rules, though she did comment after we finished that she felt like it was more work, but for a much bigger reward in terms of fun.
Lost Cities: My wife didn't like this. She thought it was too much math for not enough payoff (fun). She also thought most of the decision making was just guesses about what you were going to draw, which I thought was pretty insightful for a non-gamer.
Regarding folks' suggestions to stay away from confrontational games: Its good advice if and only if your wife fits into the typical female stereotype. My wife doesn't. She dislikes mutual solitaire type games, and doesn't see the point of cooperative games. She enjoys conflict in games. What I am saying is, I think the advice about female gamers is good only if your wife fits the stereotype its based on. If she doesn't, then ignore the advice based on the stereotype.
Good Luck!
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Quote: She also thought most of the decision making was just guesses about what you were going to draw
Couldn't one say this about any card game where you have to draw from a face-down set of cards (i.e., most if not all of them)?
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Ian Nelson
United States
chattanooga
Tennessee
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Thanks so much for all the recommendations so far. A couple of quick notes:
Confrontation isn't really an issue. My wife loved Blue Moon(she also has won more than me so far  ), and was actually the first one to make a more "aggresive" play in Hunters & Gatherers. There was much cackling involved in both situations. As long as the slapping and trash talk is mutual, we both enjoy such situations, and it doesn't become an issue. Unless it becomes one sided...
Which brings me to my main fear with War of the Ring. Having not played it I don't know, but it seems to me that with our varied backgrounds and gaming experience, it would be a blowout. Add in a long play time and I don't see it being overly popular in her eyes. This was one of the reasons I felt starting with Memoir '44 or something similar would be a good way to fill my love of troop movement, but still give her a game thats quick and easy, and a way to learn more about strategy.She has zero experience in the genre, compared to my years. And while my wife does like fantasy, she isnt opposed to WW2 themes. I own several books, films, and games(viedo) on the subject and she has enjoyed the ones we have shared very much. A bit of history is always neat, and while I am sure it's far from unheard of or even rare given the scope of the conflict, we have had good conversation about our grandfathers and their journey, all four having served during.
Anyway the short of it: Is War of the Ring something where a strategy newborn has a chance against someone with much more experience?
Someone mentioned Descent, and this is one that looks fantastic to me, having played some Hero Quest and such in the past. I think its one my wife would enjoy, if there is a sense of character development and good monster bashing. Does it play with 2 at all?
Settlers of Catan seems to be one to pick up soon. Blue Moon City also, as we both like the card game and the world is intriguing. Both seem to be something where we could easily toss in a sibling or friend or two.
A question about Mystery Rummy:Jack the Ripper. I came across this one on one of the assembled lists here on couples games (great list btw, just a bit broad for someone new. the number of titles present is a bit overwhelming) In what respects does it play like Rummy? And given the dark theme, is the artwork unsettling or overly graphic?
Thanks again so much for all your help.
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All the young people out there can feel the energy
United States
Orange County
California
Nothing to see here. Move along.
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RE: Mystery Rummy
The artwork is not graphic at all. The pictures of victims are more like portraits--no crime scene pictures. Overall, theme and artwork, it's about as violent as Clue or Mystery of the Abbey.
Basically, you are trying to collect and meld sets like in Rummy, but of "evidence" cards. One of the types of evidence cards (or suits) will be more valuable at the end once Jack the Ripper is identified. So, you are trying to control the evidence to determine the killer. In the end it's like rummy plus a few euro elements. The nice thing about the Mystery Rummy series is that you can get them for about $8 each.
-goo
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Stephen Waits
United States
San Diego
California
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Gelatinous Goo wrote: Also, look into JAMBO. I'm still hoping Blue Moon will click with me, but Jambo has been what I was expecting Blue Moon to be. It's yummy, 2-player goodness. (Ok, I see Mark mentioned Jambo too--see, we really do like the exact same games [except Hey! That's My Fish--I don't know what you see in that one, Mark]).
I third Jambo. It's a fantastic 2p game.
--Steve
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Rob Robinson
England
Rotherham
South Yorkshire
My shadow's shedding skin. I've been picking my Scabs again
Forty six and two are just ahead of me
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Here are me and my wifes fave's.
Lost Cities
Drakon
Hive
Mystery Rummy: Jeckyll & Hyde
Yahtzee
Pass The Pigs
All of the above are simple to learn & have that addictive 'one more go' feel.
I would forget Mall of Horror as a 2 player game.
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James Stubbs
United States
Florence
South Carolina
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I think you're well on your way. There are a few other games that you might want to consider:
Gang of Four
Fist of Dragonstones
Zombies!!! 2nd Ed. (better for 2 player zombies over Mall of Horror)
Hera & Zeus
Dungeon Twister
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Ray
United States
Carpentersville
Illinois
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Dungeon Twister sounds perfect for you two.
Also I know you want to get her more exposure to the hobby side of gaming, but don't forget to keep your collection well rounded. For example the GIPF series of abstract games is just awesome. http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/8801
Diversity in what you have is key! good luck!
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Fenômeno
United States
Fitchburg
Wisconsin
Button Soccer
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Best games that we play at our house (2-player):
Memoir 44
LOTR: The Confrontation
Hunters and Gatherers
Ticket to Ride
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Kevin Iacoucci
Canada
Burlington
Ontario
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Hi, I'm actually in roughly the same situation as you, though my GF is not a gamer. I'm trying to ease her her by playing Settlers 2 player variant - which she doesn't seem to mind. She does keep on saying that she would like to play "Simon".... (grumble). The problem I'm having is that shes not a mathmatical or spatical thinker at all. So a majority of games are lost on her.
I would recommend Antike as a multiplayer "world domination" game, I've played it at my board game club and it's alot of fast fun. Also, there's a two player Medici coming out that could be good as well. I've heard that the Settlers Card game with the expansion is quite nice with 2 players.
If your looking at Memoir 44, then you might want to consider Command and Colors:Ancients, as it has a better overall game system.
Best of luck with your search
Kaizen Zanshin
"The best tacticians are never implusive; the best leaders are never arrogent" ~ Chinese Proverb ~
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Phillip Heaton
United States
Springfield
Virginia
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General recommendation, search geeklists for "wife", "girlfriend", and "husband". Those will give you about fifty geeklists for couples; frequently a gamer trying to bring a non-gamer into the hobby. You can check those out for suggestions, and then read the reviews of the games to see if they might work for you and her.
More specifically:
1) Memoir '44. Richard Borg has three games out now that use the same system, Battle Cry, Memoir '44 and Command and Colors: Ancients. Battle Lore is also supposed to be like this, but it isn't out yet. Which one you should get would depend on which period your wife would like the best, Civil War, WWII, Ancients or Fantasy. There are also two games by Worthington Games; Clash for a Continent: Battles of the American Revolution and French & Indian War; and For Honor and Glory: War of 1812 Land and Naval Battles. They use a very similar system, but use actions points instead of the cards to determine what you can do in each round. Note that Command & Colors: Ancients is the highest rated 2 player game on the geek.
2) Lost Cities (or Battle Line?). I don't care for Lost Cities, but I have to admit that it usually tops most lists for a husband and wife game. I enjoy Battle Line, which is a different game entirely.
3) Mall of Horror (apologies if title is off). I don't know that there is any good zombie game out there yet, but others could tell you more.
4) Settlers of Catan. I've gotten burnt out on this one. I prefer Settlers of Nuremberg and my wife prefers Settlers of the Stone Age.
5) Lord of the Rings. This is the only cooperative game I enjoy playing. The best game about this subject IMHO is War of the Ring. It really gives you the feel of the books, without dictating that you follow the plot exactly. It still takes me a lot more than three hours to play this game, but I never feel that the time is wasted. If you are concerned about over-matching your wife in wargame experience, just let her run the bad guys. All the good guys can usually do is hold off the bad guys long enough to get the ring to the Cracks of Doom.
6) Zoo Sim. I don't know anything about this game, but there are other zoo games out there. These all seem to be about zoos too: Zoo, Crazy Mixed Up Zoo, Cuckoo Zoo, Dinozoo, Frank's Zoo or Franks Zoo or Zoff im Zoo, Petting Zoo Gangsta, Top Zoo, Zany Zoo Adventures Of Tennessee Tuxedo, The or The Zany Zoo Adventures Of Tennessee Tuxedo, Zippidy Zoo, Zoo Food, Zoo Mania, Zoo Pals, Zoo Party, Zoo Quest, Zoo Train, Zoo ver-rückt, zoobylon, Zoodiak, Zoofari and Zoography. Mind you, I don't know anything about these either.
More information about War of the Ring. This is a very asymmetric game. The forces of evil (the Shadow player) has a massive advantage in military might. The problem is, one hobbit can ruin his whole day by chucking the ring into the Cracks of Doom. That is how the game plays too. The Shadow player tries to conquer enough of the world to make the destruction of the ring worthless, while the fellowship tries to get the ring to the Cracks of Doom before this happens, without having the ringbearer "turned to the dark side" as it were. Very tense; I had one game end with the fall of Lorien with the ring bearer just one space away from the Cracks of Doom.
Two other fantasy games that I haven't seen mentioned here. They both have the advantage of being cheap to try out.
1) Dungeoneer, which is your basic dungeon crawl. During your turn you first play the dungeon master for the other guy(s), and then you play your hero. The smaller games can go too fast, especially for two players; I'd recommend the Tomb of the Lich Lord (1st through 4th level), with the Call of the Lich Lord (4th through 7th level) for higher level entertainment.
2) Battleground: Fantasy Warfare, which is fantasy miniatures, without having actual miniatures. Each card is the size of a unit, with a bird's eye view of the unit pictured on the card. Each race (men, elves, dwarves, orcs, undead) has two decks (starter and reinforcement) that provides everything that you are likely to ever need to field armies of that race in battle.
These are the games, rated 7 or higher, with a complexity of three or less: Commands & Colors: Ancients, Dreamblade, Lord of the Rings - The Confrontation: Deluxe Edition, YINSH, Battleground: Fantasy Warfare, DVONN, Warmaster, Battle Line, ZÈRTZ, Liberty, Battle Cry, Blood Bowl - Third Edition, Travel Blokus, Lost Cities, Schotten Totten, Hive, Carcassonne - The Castle, Dungeon Twister, PÜNCT, Ace of Aces - Handy Rotary Deluxe Edition, Jambo, Call of Cthulhu CCG, Deflexion, Ace of Aces - Powerhouse Series, Blue Moon, Assault on Hoth, Aton, A House Divided, Starship Catan, Im Schatten des Drachen, The Settlers of Catan Card Game, TAMSK, Kupferkessel Co, War of 1812, Roma, Subbuteo, Star Wars Miniatures, Ace of Aces - Flying Machines. I have a small problem recommending Dreamblade, with it being new and all the hype behind it - I'm not saying that it isn't a good game; just that I'm a little leery of recommending it right now.
My wife and I like playing Tales of the Arabian Nights, Rail Baron, TransAmerica, For Sale, Bug Eyed Monsters (they want our women), Assassin the Final Game, Ming, Chill: Black Morn Manor, Mexican Train Dominoes, Sequence, Settlers of Nuremberg, Settlers of the Stone Age, Power Grid, Ingenious and Puerto Rico.
I hope this helps.
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anoni mouse
United States
San Jose
California
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Let me start by saying welcome to the geek Proper Ian. My wife and I both enjoy a game two or three times a week
I too must also second the list of games that Mark Christiansen. And recommend as well the games the David L have mentioned All those games are excellent games for the two of you. I will add my voice to those recommending Battle lines. well that is just my two cents on the topic
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Sean Leventhal
United States
Unspecified
Maryland
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I will have a gamer wife very soon. For the moment I have a gamer Fiance. Here are some we like to play together:
Ticket To Ride: We play with a "bot" (draw 2-3 tickets at random and place trains of a third color there). We think this really improves the two player game. This also serves as an excellent 3-5 player game that most non-gamers enjoy.
Pheonix, Lost Cities, Odin's Ravens: These are all excellent 2 player only games. Some don't get taken out quite as much anymore, but all served their purposes.
Carcassonne: A lot like Ticket to Ride. Good with two and good with more. I would recommend you get the River, the River 2, and inns and cathedrals, then stop buying expansions.
Heroscape: This one takes a big investment (potentially), but just the base set is all you really need. We both enjoy it, you may or may not.
Ingenious: A little more abstract than the previous, but this one is a lot of fun for 2. Also serves as a good 3-4 player game.
Torres: For something deeper we enjoy Torres, which you can look up. It is probably deeper and more complex than the other things I have listed.
Descent: I would only get this if you have 2 other people to play with you, but since you mentioned you both play WoW you may enjoy something like this.
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Although you got a lot of great tips already, I like to give you my recommendations as well. Maybe you're being convinced, when you hear some suggestions over and over again...
Lost Cities is very popular for me and my wife. For me it is the typical wife game, if something like this exists. It is light and quick to play in between. In Germany it is now out-of-print, but I think it's going over a redesign right now and coming back. It has also been around for several years now, which is also often a sure sign for a good game (please don't buy Monopoly because of this general assumption!).
Ticket to Ride is also a great two-player game as well as with many players. My wife always, always beats me in it (I cannot remember the last time I won). But I think this is not a gender problem, or at least I hope so. A game of strategic planning, the only "flaw" we encountered is that we had a huge advantage, whenever playing against new players.
Settlers of Catan Card Game. I haven't read all the replies, but mostly saw recommendations of The Settlers boardgame. I think the card game could suit you very well, especially as it is for two players only and you can add a fantastic touch with add-ons, if you like the basic game. Settlers of Catan is still the perfect game to get non-gamers into gaming IMHO, but I would recommend more than two players.
Apart from that I also think that Dungeon Twister suits your interest (two players, fantasy, strategy). Carcassonne - the Castle is also very good for two players, but as you have Hunters & Gatherers you might want to wait on that.
Sorry if I repeated things already said. I think your question is a classical one and is something many gamers before you and after you will think about. Another good advice is to check the geek lists, for example:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/15658 or
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/6559 or
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/7219
Just a small selection of geeklists with the topic "wife".
I wish you the best of luck and have fun ordering and unpacking the games.
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Martin
United States
San Diego area
California
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Along the card game vein, En Garde! is an underrated possibility. It's a "swashbuckling" sword fighting game that works great with two. Think Three Musketeers, where defeating your opponent doesn't count unless you do it with style.
Regarding Memoir 44, please be patient before picking that up or you'll derail the entire project. Get some guaranteed winners that meet her criteria before getting anything purely for you.
Martin
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JP LaChance
United States
Madison
Wisconsin
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Lost Cities - Good choice, I like KoC better.
Knights of Charlemagne (better than Lost Cities IMHO & can play with 3 or 4)
Memior '44 - Make sure she likes the idea of playing a "wargame" before you buy it or it will sit on the shelf
Ticket to Ride - Plays well with 2 but scales up
Attika - The best 2-player "boardgame" available IMHO. Add this one a bit later after you get her into gaming.
I think Settlers of Catan is an excellent game but it does not shine with 2 players. I think Carcassonne would be a better choice with just 2-players.
You need to see my geeklist http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/14232
for a sure path to success.
best weshes
JP
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kiko chirol
Brazil
rio de janeiro
rio de janeiro
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I'm also married, and I believe the following games are good calls:
- Ticket to Ride Europe (easy to learn, the best T2R for two players).
- Saint Petersburg (also a easy game, and works really well with two, three or four players).
- Guillotine (a really easy, fast and funny game! great filler! Can be played well from 2-5 playes)
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