One boardgame and a number of cardgames that I lump into the same category.
Boardgame
Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation - An elegant and beautiful marriage of Stratego and LotR lore. The rules are fantastic (almost every 'what happens if' questions is noted in the rules, it was like the designer was sitting right there) and easy to pick up. 2 players only.
Cardgames
Guillotine - Darkly humorous and fast game where you and your opponents are rival Executioners at the guillotine trying to put together the 'best' collection of heads.
Fluxx - The rules start simple, Draw 1/Play 1. After that, it's anyone's game. There are some fuzzy debatable rules (well, *I* don't think there's any ambiguity, but others aren't so clearsighted as I am
), but you can address them as they come up. Doesn't hamper play in any way.
Fist of Dragonstones - Or as we like to call it, Dragonst Ones (because of the title art on the box). Fun bidding game with an interesting mechanic for resolving rounds - the cards determine the order of play with each 'role' that the players assume determining when in the round they go. If you want to go first, be sure to snag the The King, he doesn't grant you any benefits other than the benefit of taking an action first (which can be good). It's been a while since I played it, there's a city building element as well, with certain edifices giving you bonuses and protections from other players machinations. Really good.
Cardgame I've only played once, but it was fun and is worth a mention just for the name
Who Stole Ed's Pants? - I think this one's out of print. It's a little hard to get your head around at first, but very fun when you do. Witnesses rise and fall in credibility and suspects bend over backwards to incriminate others. As to who stole Ed's pants? It's whoever is framed up for the job, not necessarily who's actually guilty. Some mysteries are best left unsolved.
