I like word games, and puzzle games, and here's why:
What I like about games in general is that they place the contestants in a closed system, give them a simple set of rules explaining how to excel in that system (this is usually \"earn the most money or points, and here's how you earn them\"), and then set about seeing who the best is. Watching a game show, then, is like an escape from everyday life. Welcome to our world, here's how our world works, and for the next half hour the real world doesn't matter. And, oh, do you think YOU could thrive in our world? Well, if yer gonna be in the LA area...
Anyhow. The reason I like word and puzzle games is because, under this concept, they provide the greatest removal from regular life. Price Is Right, you have to remember what things cost in the real world. Jeopardy requires you to know all KINDS of things about the real world. You can have not read a newspaper in a solid year and more or less get by on Password.
This is not to say that the other genres are worthless...hell, I'm as much a Loyal Friend And True of TPiR as anyone. But word and puzzle games seem to be the great equalizer. They test skills that can't be learned. You can memorize the encyclopedia, and kick ass on Jeopardy, but if you can't communicate it effectively, you're going to spend a lot of time at that desk watching the other guy in the Winner's Circle.