In answer to the question "It's been my observation that a lot of women play Illuminati, compared to the percentage that get into most boardgames. Why is this? And is it possible to make a generalization about the sex of M:TG players?" as posed by Steve Jackson:

I suspect it's a verbal vs. spatial thing. Women, in general, are more verbal while men, in general, are more spatial. We don't always like to admit to this and there are lots of individual exceptions, but it's still been shown to be true on cross-cultural studies. Most strategy/tactical games are spatial- they're boardgames. You have to see the patterns in chess to be a very good player. Many women have trouble with this, and, therefore, don't play (besides the fact that chess etiquette is that you don't engage your opponent in conversation during the game). Magic is different. There's the whole verbal element of reading the cards and what they can do, announcing various "moves" to your opponent (not to mention nicknaming all the cards and arguing over the interpretation of a given rule). That's more appealing to more women.

I got into Magic mostly for self-defense and discovered I liked it. It's not role-playing, by any means, but it's a fun way to kill a few hours. And, I can actually BEAT my husband at a tactical game for once.