Everybody loves Words With Friends. Whether playing against Facebook friends or challenging random strangers, Zynga’s not-quite-Scrabble game is the go-to time waster for millions of people. Now it looks like the game might be useful for more than just teaching our friends to hate words like “qi” and “za.”

Using the game’s ability to pair players with random people, Beth Legler of Blue Springs, Missouri started a game with Georgie Fletcher, who lives in Australia. Through the game’s chat feature, the two became friends. When Georgie mentioned that her husband Simon was feeling ill, Beth relayed his symptons to her husband Larry, a doctor. Larry advised that Simon go to the hospital immediately, where doctors discovered 99% arterial blockage. Had Simon not received medical attention when he did, he would almost certainly have died that day.

Words With Friends is available on a variety of platforms. It’s 2009 iPhone debut was followed by Android and iPad versions, then Zynga (makers of Farmville, Cityville, and more) brought the app to Facebook. The Facebook version is free, and the iOS and Android versions come in paid and ad-supported varieties. If you’ve never played it, give it a try. The life you save might be your own.

[Source: Ozarks First]