How did words knock off Mario and flying avians to become gaming’s heroes de rigeur? – – – Seems like everywhere you turn, a new word game is captivating an audience of new players, eager to show off their vocab skills or challenge their co-workers. Zynga’s Words With Friends got Alec Baldwin in trouble with the FAA. Zach Gage, a previously little-known experimental artist, releases SpellTower and shows up in a New York Times Magazine article. PopCap’s early title Bookworm would pave the way for their other world-conquering efforts like Plants vs. Zombies. So why have those twenty-six characters, learned in grade…