Not a board game… but highly recommend Magic Puzzle Company puzzles as gifts for family and friends who aren’t quite ready for intense games. A bonus is that Susan Kare (of Apple/Next fame) designed the logo and branding.
In the same vein, I really enjoyed Vizzles [0] which is a regular puzzle with themed "riddles/puns" (the ones we've done so far were plays on words of movies and books), and also Odd Pieces [1], in which you construct a puzzle that is _slightly_ different from what you see on the box (the "lore" is that the puzzle you construct is at a moment in the future of the scene played out in the box).
I found these to be refreshing twists on typical puzzles, which we enjoy a lot as well.
https://www.magicpuzzlecompany.com/