Here is my list, I won't go into too many details as to rules or anything like that. I recommend checking out the links below to see what the games are like.

Two Players:

- Backgammon: This is my favorite "classic" game. I think it is _way_ more fun than chess. Especially if you play it with the doubling cube. Backgammon is easy to learn and it is common across many cultures.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2397/backgammon

- Lost Cities: this is a card game for two players that does not require any reading, aside from numbers. The game is very simple to learn but has a lot of depth and it is a lot of fun. I usually recommend this a good game for couples.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/50/lost-cities

- Battle Line: This is like Lost Cities but a little more complex, it has great depth.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/760/battle-line

Four Players

- The Mind: This is a four player card game that won game of the year back when it came out. It has no words at all. This game is extremely popular and the game play is very easy to learn (even easy for a kid). It requires all players to work together as team.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/244992/the-mind

- The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine - This is also a four player card where you play as a team and there are no words. This game involves trick taking, which is gameplay mechanic that I was not familiar with before I played this, but you grandpa has probably played a card game in the past that does this (Bridge, Spades, and Hearts).

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/284083/the-crew-the-ques...

Single Player:

- Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: The Thames Murders & Other Cases - This game is entirely made up of reading words. It is a very clever game that is kind of like a choose your own adventure. You get multiple cases to try to solve and you have to try to beat Sherlock Holmes. It can be frustrating but also rewarding. I would recommend getting it in grandpa's native language.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2511/sherlock-holmes-con...

My new obsession: A horse-racing board game of pure luck