The following post was originally published on Mommylens.com.

Words with Friends, the highly addictive iPhone app, has gotten more than its fair share of press. There was Alec Baldwin getting kicked off an American Airlines flight for refusing to power down in the middle of his game. And there was the Wall Street Journal article that portrayed the bonding that comes with playing Words with Friends as one of the off-the-field activities that helps the Super Bowl–winning Giants play so well together on the field.

At any given time in my house you can find someone deeply ensconced in a game. The kids love playing with their friends (and against me), and I am often juggling 20-plus games at a time. Given that there are many addictive iPhone games, I started to think about what makes this one so special.

One night, after a particularly long day of work I was too wound up to sleep but weary enough to want to lie down in bed. The rest of the house was sleeping, so I picked up my phone and logged on to see if I had any moves to make. One of my girlfriends, someone I never have time to visit with during the week, was also awake. The two of us played a game from start to finish that night, using the chat function to comment on moves we made and say hello.

That night it dawned on me—Words with Friends is the cup of coffee I don’t often have time to grab with my friends. Could this be the definition of social gaming for time-strapped moms everywhere?