Reccomend some (non-RPG) games

[buzz]

I'm looking to both broaden my gaming palette and put together some stay-at-home fun for me and my wife. (Insert joke here.) I was thinking of finding some board or card games that work well for just two players, and aren't the usual stuff (Trvivial Pursuit, etc.). My wife is not a gamer, so I'm looking for games that have appeal to the non-fantasy/SF-inclined. Any reccomendations?

 

[jgbrowning]

Buyword by Face2Face Games (the guys at the old MonkeyGod). Great word game where you buy letters and sell words back. Say you buy 5 points of letters you pay $25 (square) but you then use those points with the 5 points you bought last round to make a 10 point word worth $100.

Fun game.

joe b.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Fluxx, Fluxx, Fluxx, Fluxx, and Fluxx. Did I mention Fluxx?
http://wunderland.com/LooneyLabs/Fluxx/Default.html

 

[MrFilthyIke]

If she's got a warped sense of humor, Lunch Money is great.

 

[diaglo]

Pit or Herb

 

[xrpsuzi]

Blokus (sp?) is a lot of fun. It she like puzzles or tetris, she'll probably like it.
I generally get board with territory/stategy games, but Blokus is like go dressed up with tetris-like pieces and colored plastic. But I'm a simple monkey.

It's typically for 4 people, but Joe and I play 2 player and just take on two spots each.

 

[Pielorinho]

My wife and I play a lot of games together. Our favorite two-person games include Scrabble, Boggle, and Cribbage.

You can play Settlers of Catan with two people, but it's way more fun played with three or more.

Daniel

 

[francisca]

Settlers of Cataan

You may wish to checkout www.boardgamegeek.com

WARNING: If you are like me and my propeller-head buddies, going to that site may have an adverse affect on your checking account and/or credit card balances. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Seriously, though. that is a great site for reviews, errata, houserules, and general boardgame goodness.

 

[GlassJaw]

I love Scrabble. I like Speed Scrabble even more. What's Speed Scrabble you ask?

SS is the just like normal Scrabble except you don't use the board. Instead, take all the letters and spread them out on a table. Each player takes 7 letters. Everyone turns their letters over at the same time and tries to make words with the letters on the table in front of them. When they have used all their letters, that person yells "Draw!" If no more words can be made, say "Give" (as in, "I give up"). This continues until all the letters have been used. The winner is the person who can use up all of his or her letters.

The point is to use your letters quickly and force the other players to draw while they are still trying to form words. Eventually some players will have a backlog of letters they have to use. The game moves a lot faster than normal Scrabble. It is better for larger groups though.

 

[der_kluge]

My wife and I used to play Chez Geek a lot. It's in storage now, I think. It's quick and easy. And my wife isn't much of a gamer. She tends to hate the really complicated games. Like M:tG was too much for her. Chez Geek is uber easy to learn and play. I have all three sets.

Basically, the idea is to play cards that give you "slack". Every profession has a slack goal, and when you reach your slack goal, you win. To do this, you either undertake activities or purchase certain items. Activities include toga parties, playing video games, role-playing, going to a movie, and stuff like that. Items include marijuana, beer, books, TV, and other slack-inducing things.