Great games to play with Amazon’s Alexa

Alexa has made it into many homes around the globe and is transforming the lives of lots of people, making our homes even smarter, effectively saving us time.

Not only is Alexa great for creating your shopping lists, giving you news updates and setting your morning alarm, you can also play fun games too!

The Amazon Echo or Amazon Dot can be the finishing touch to your dinner party by bringing entertainment to the table. Furthermore kids love Alexa too – perfect for when they have friends over or when you’re hosting a youngster’s birthday party.

Here are the best games you can play with Alexa:

Bingo

This classic game is perfect for all ages. You’ll need Bingo number cards which can easily be found online and printed out ready for use.

To play simply open the Amazon Alexa app on your smart device or use a computer to visit echo.amazon.com. Then open the skills menu, search for Bingo and click enable.

To begin say “Alexa, open Bingo.”

Each number called by Alexa will be repeated and displayed within the Alexa app.

To move onto the next number simply say “Next.”

Whoever wins shouts “Bingo!” to end the game.

Abra

Do you think you have what it takes to puzzle Alexa with Abra – the character guessing game?

It’s basically an arrangement of 21 questions, you choose a character (real or fictional) and answer a sequence of yes/no questions and Alexa has to guess who you’re thinking of.

To commence say “Alexa, start Akinator.” The game will begin straight away and you’ll need to answer the questions.

You might just be surprised how intelligent Alexa is!

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Rock, paper, scissors has always been a popular choice of game on the school playground.

Now you can challenge Alexa to a game!

To open the skill all you need to do it say “Alexa, start rock, paper, scissors.”

It’s extremely easy to play, with 3 simple things to remember:

Rock smashes Scissors

Scissors cut Paper

Paper wraps Rock

Challenge Alexa and see who wins!

 

Blackjack

Firstly, enable the ‘Beat The Dealer’ skill. After enabling say “Alexa, ask the dealer to play Blackjack.”

The virtual dealer will deal you a hand and Alexa will read out your cards and one of the dealer’s cards.

You’ll then be asked if you want to hit or stand, make your decision and say your answer.

If you don’t bust and finally choose to stand, Alexa will tell you what the dealer decided to do and whether they won.

Additionally, you can ask for a suggestion on any hand by saying “what should I do”, and you’ll be told the basic strategy play based on the cards you have, the dealer card, and the game options currently being used.

 

Tic-Tac-Toe

Another game you can play with Alexa is Tic-Tac-Toe (also known as noughts and crosses). Either play Tic-Tac-Toe from memory or take note of the moves on paper.

To start a game say “Alexa, ask Tic Tac Toe for a game.”

Alexa will speak her move and then it’s your turn to speak your move and so on and so forth.

To name your position on the grid you can say any of the following:

Top Left – Top – Top Right

Left – Center – Right

Bottom Left – Bottom – Bottom Right

Take turns with Alexa selecting positions and whoever gains 3 positions in a row first wins the game.

 

Twister

Twister is a fun game filled with laughter which has travelled through generations. If you’ve misplaced the Twister Spinner, can’t find anyone to spin or simply want to play a little differently why not allow Alexa to step in and help?

Twister Spinner acts as a virtual spinner and calls out the moves for you. When you need Alexa to call out a move just say “Alexa, run Twister Spinner.”

This hand-free spinner makes the game way more enjoyable!

 

Other useful things Alexa can do:

Pick a card

 

You can ask Alexa to pick a card from a 52-card deck.

Simply say “Alexa, pick a card” and Alexa will read out the card selected at random. You might find this one useful when performing a magic trick.

Roll a dice

About to play a game of Monopoly but the dice is nowhere to be found? It’s frustrating when you can’t find something when you really need it. Don’t worry, Alexa is there to help!

Alexa can roll a single die by saying “Alexa, roll a die” or even roll multiple dice by saying “Alexa, roll two dice”.

You won’t look back after using a virtual dice!

Flip a coin

Need to make an instant decision? Ask Alexa to make the decision for you by flipping a coin. This is the fairest way to decide, plus you won’t have to kick yourself when the answer you’ve chosen doesn’t come out.

Simply say “Alexa, flip a coin” and she’ll give you either heads or tails.

Extremely ideal if there’s a disagreement about whose turn it is to do the housework!!