We’ve recently started getting into board games. I’m a lot easier to please, but unfortunately she needs to like the game as well.
So far she really loves Cranium, Muchkin and, oddly enough, Dominion. She’s a savant at that game. It’s crazy. But for some reason she really liked it, even though I thought she wouldn’t.
She hates Monopoly and didn’t care for Pandemic too much.
Thoughts?
Hive is a good game, although it might not be considered a board game. It’s more over towards the chess end of the spectrum.
Agricola is good and I think anyone who likes Dominion would like it as well. But while it can be played by two people it works better with more. However there is now a different version of the game called Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small that was designed as a two-player game.
It’s hard to tell from that list what the common theme is in making your wife love a game. So I’ll just throw out my current favourite: Agricola
Theme: You’re a late medieval peasant, and you need to build up your farm till it’s the envy of all around.
Pros: Although the play is completely skill-based, one of the features is that each player is dealt a random bunch of “Occupations” and “Improvements” which they can select to play at various points in the game. Many of these combine in nice synergistic ways, and there’s a great satisfaction in seeing how far you can go if, say you have an occupation that lets you get extra stone, and another that lets you pay less stone for constructing things, so you end up with a bunch of spiffy construction while your opponent might go for, say, wild-boar-herding. Because you never know what you’re going to get, the game is different every time.
Very well balanced
You compete, and might occasionally get in others’ way, but you never actually attack your opponent. You just try to do better than them. I think that’s an important point when playing with family 
Looks complicated but actually isn’t really. My 7yo can play it pretty effectively.
Cons: You need a big table. There’s lots of stuff involved - boards, resource counters, etc. I have ours organised in a re-purposed sewing kit, 'cos the little zip locks they provide for the purpose are a PITA.
The written rules suck in an ESL kind of way, so the very first game is often a bit of a boondoggle. You need to get used to their slightly oddball terminology - something like “After renovation, also minor improvement” actually means “This space allows you to renovate. Then you can do a minor improvement if you want, but you don’t have to.” If you do try it, play two games 'cos the first one won’t really tell you if you like it or not.
So worthwhile if you get into it though
If you play with more than two, I strongly suggest combining Roborally with copious amounts of alcohol for a good time to be had by all.
King of Tokyo is a fun, shallow-strategy, press-your-luck style of game.
If you’re after two-player games, have a look at some of the newer style of deck-building games out there - I find that the best ones are made by Cryptozoic. Penny Arcade: Gamers vs Evil seems to be the best balanced, but you may be unfamiliar with the subject matter. Ascension, Netrunner and Lord of the Rings are all pretty good.
Oh, and if she likes Munchkin, try Chez Geek or Chez Dork.
“Scrabble” is forever. But if you go for it, spend the extra few bucks on a players’ dictionary. Having a final, clear answer on what is or isn’t a playable word probably saved my marriage.
I love Agricola, but be careful with this. I know many people who like Dominion but not Agricola, because it’s not a very forgiving game.
If you haven’t picked up any of the Dominion expansions, grab at least one. They do wonders for replayability.
Most of my gaming experience is with three or more people, so I don’t know how well it works for two, but 7 Wonders has gone over well with everyone I’ve introduced it to. It’s a twist on the deck-building card game genre. Instead of buying cards from a common supply like in Dominion, you draft them from hands passed from player to player.
Ticket to Ride is also fairly enjoyable and easy to learn.
Old school: cribbage. It’s simple to learn, with a bit of strategy and a bit of luck so you won’t always have the same winner, and it’s great fun.
Here is what I recommend:
Carcosonne: The Castle
Ra: The Dice Game
Jambo
Ticket to Ride is fun, though I usually play with more than two. The hard part is knowing when NOT to draw more tickets. 
Milles Bourn (card game) is fun for two, and very fast paced.
Pente - ancient game and made for two - one of my all-time favorites.
There’s Grammar Nazis, in which you learn when to say “my wife and I” and when “my wife and me”.
I like the Settlers of Catan Card Game, which is strictly two-player, but I have had my copy for years and couldn’t tell you if it’s still in print.
For more players Citadels is great fun. I played this a few days ago. Although it’s theoretically playable with two I think the interplay might be a bit lacking, and the site recommends five as ideal (it works very well with six or seven).
I came in to say Pente - I love that game.
Mancala is also very good, one of my favourites.
Fluxx is fun and comes in a wide variety of flavors.
Pictionary, Taboo, Outburst are good if you have more than two players.
I forgot about Fluxx. We have the star version. We also enjoy Gloom.
[QUOTE=Bayard]
“Scrabble” is forever. But if you go for it, spend the extra few bucks on a players’ dictionary. Having a final, clear answer on what is or isn’t a playable word probably saved my marriage.
[/QUOTE]
YES! The OSPD is a must have. There has been more than one episode of table flipping at my house before we got this. I also have the rotating board, which I <3.
I also enjoy a rousing game of Yahtzee every now and again.
Mille Bornes is ~25 years older than Pente. Pente came out in 1977.
Ah - well it’s based on an ancient game then? Fun, at any rate. Wish they still made it with the roll-out mat instead of a folding cardboard board.
Have you tried Apples To Apples?
The Catan Card Game was remade last year as Rivals of Catan. Rivals streamlined the cards and rules a bit, making it easier to learn and faster to play. I much prefer it to the original.
The OP gives little to go on in order to give recommendations. Are you looking for strictly two player? What about those games did your wife like/dislike? Without that info, I’d suggest trying some of the classic gateway games (Ticket to Ride, Carcossone, Catan (the board game requires three players))
7 Wonders is our current go to game. We usually play with four ti five people but it can be played with two.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=7%20wonders
Fluxx is my favorite card game. Fluxx is fun because you have “rules” cards that you can play or take away from the board so the rules and how to win the game keep changing. Zombie Fluxx is my favorite version because of the zombies. I always try to make it so the zombies win which means everyone else, including me, loses.
If you have the time, take a look at Wil Wheaton’s “Tabletop” series on YouTube. They showcase a game every other week, and some of those mentioned in this thread are in his series.
He’s in the middle of season two right now.