Rosa Golijan/msnbc.com

"Words With Friends" has been in and out of the news recently, mostly thanks to actor Alec Baldwin getting kicked off a flight after refusing to stop playing the popular multiplayer word game on his cellphone. Today we're going to talk about the game for a much happier reason: It apparently kindled a romance that led to marriage.

A report on the Chicago Tribune's RedEye blog explains that Megan Lawless and Jasper Jasperse — who married in July 2011 — have "Words With Friends" to thank for their initial chance meeting.

The story goes that 32-year-old Lawless happened to be playing the Scrabble-like game in 2009 when she got bored because her opponent — a friend who was on Thanksgiving vacation — wasn't taking turns quickly enough. Like many frustrated players might, Lawless decided to hit the button which would bring her a random opponent, who might be more responsive than her friend.

The opponent selected by that mysterious algorithm that drives "Words With Friends" was none other than 31-year-old Jasperse.

The two began playing and, using the game's built-in chat feature, they struck up a conversation.

"Hi" led to "hello" — and "hello" eventually led to emails and Skype chats. A few months later Lawless and Jasperse would decide to meet. Next thing you know, the two were engaged.

Jasperse spoke to RedEye, responding to suggestions that the way in which the two became a couple was somehow unorthodox, or hasty:

"Most people think, when we tell the story, that we right away started a very intimate conversation," he said, but the opposite was true. "It very gradually built up to finally meeting each other … At one point, I spoke to Megan more than anybody else around me."

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