Use the helpfully labeled 'Gender Neutral Entrance'

Ha! Great idea, think I'll do the same

Magic Maze is great for newbies - rules are simple and introduced over multiple scenarios. I've had success with both kids and adults.

If you like word games, Illiterati is a cooperative word game. It plays a bit like Bananagrams in that you're having to accommodate additional letters into your sets of words, and each player also has their own category of words they're trying to complete.

Red November, Forbidden Island, and Forbidden Desert are all pretty similar "Move your pawn around and do things before everything blows up" type games similar to Pandemic.