25 Fun Ways Alexa Can Join In on Your Next Game Night – CNET

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Yes, Alexa is great for things like create routines, setting reminders, and controlling your smart home. Did you know Alexa can also be the life of the party, too? While there are plenty of fun Amazon EchoEaster eggs and not to mention the silly sense of humor, did you know Alexa is loaded with surprisingly fun party games?

Here are 25 ways that you can let Alexa take a break from the more serious tasks and you can have some fun with your Echo smart speaker or smart display

Watch this: Alexa gets new features to make it a better listener

1. Bingo

Bingo is a timeless classic. To play it with your Alexa speaker, say, “Alexa, open Bingo.” Each number called by Alexa will be repeated and viewable from within the Alexa app. To advance to the next number, say “Next” or “Call the next number.”

When someone wins, say “Bingo!” and the game will end.

To play Bingo, you will need number cards, which you can download for free from lovemyecho.com.

2. Tic Tac Toe

If a standard game of Tic Tac Toe against a computer is too easy for you, try playing a round with Alexa. If you don’t draw the board yourself, you have to imagine the game in your head.

To start a game, say “Alexa, ask Tic Tac Toe for a game” or “Alexa, ask Tic Tac Toe to start a new game by taking the center.”

Alexa will then speak Alexa’s move, and you will have to speak your next move. For example, say, “Top left” or “Bottom.”

3. Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock

Out of the box, you can challenge Alexa to a round of Rock Paper Scissors. The built-in functionality is a bit sterile, and it doesn’t give you any information, like who won the round. To spice it up a bit, try the more advanced version, Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock.

If you enable the Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock skill, Alexa will explain how you won or lost, keep track of your wins and tell you who racked up the most wins over several rounds.

To open the skill, say, “Alexa, open Lizard Spock” and follow the prompts.

4. Akinator

Try to stump Alexa with Akinator. It’s essentially a form of 20 questions, where you select a character and answer a series of yes-or-no questions and Alexa tries to guess who you’re thinking of.

To start a game, say, “Alexa, open Akinator.” The game will immediately start, and you will need to answer each question with a yes or no. Don’t be surprised when you can’t stump Alexa.

5. Blackjack (Beat The Dealer)

You can also play Blackjack with Alexa with the skill titled Beat The Dealer. To enable and open it, just say, “Alexa, open The Dealer.”

The virtual dealer will “deal” you a hand and Alexa will speak your cards and one of the dealer’s cards. It will then ask you if you want to hit or stand. Decide what you want to do and speak your answer. If you don’t bust and eventually choose to stand, Alexa will tell you what the dealer chose to do and whether it busted or you won.

It will then ask you if you want to play again.

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The Echo Show 15 is Amazon’s latest — and largest — smart display. 

Molly Price/CNET

6. Earplay

Earplay is an adventure game wherein you play the part of a secret agent in a radio drama. As in other choose-your-own-adventure games on Alexa, your responses affect the outcome of the story.

This skill does require linking your account, so you will need to open the Alexa app on iOS or Android, enter the Skills menu and search for Earplay. Click Enable and log in or sign up for an Earplay account. Note that some content in Earplay may not be suitable for all ages.

7. The Wayne Investigation

Another choose-your-own-adventure game for Alexa is called The Wayne Investigation. In this game, your goal is to investigate the death of Bruce Wayne’s parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne. Each of your choices affects your ability to solve the mystery. The Wayne Investigation also contains some content that may not be suitable for all ages.

Start the game by saying, “Alexa, open The Wayne Investigation” and follow the prompts.

8. The Magic Door

The Magic Door is another example of a fantastic choose-your-own-adventure game available on Alexa speakers. There are currently nine stories to choose from in The Magic Door, such as helping the princess find her crown, saving monkeys on a tropical island or exploring a witch’s spooky mansion.

Unlike Earplay and The Wayne Investigation, The Magic Door is more suitable for younger ears.

9. WhereInTheWorld

If you’re into geography trivia, WhereInTheWorld is a game you should definitely try. You will be asked about capital cities, where certain languages are spoken and much more. To begin playing WhereInTheWorld, just say, “Alexa, open Geography Trivia.”

Watch this: Alexa Skill Blueprints: Create your own Family Trivia Game

10. Memory Match

Memory Match is the card-matching game you loved playing as a kid with a twist: you can’t see the cards. You have to imagine the cards laid out in a four-by-three grid and use your memory (and a little visualization in your mind) to match all the pairs.

You could cheat and write it down, but that ruins the fun.

To start the Memory Match game, just say, “Alexa, open Memory Match.” To flip a card, say its position in the grid, such as, “Row one, column three.”

11. Hunt the Yeti

Like Memory Match, you will need to use memory and visualization with Hunt the Yeti. This game is an audio-only interpretation of Hunt the Wumpus. You navigate a hunter around obstacles as he hunts a yeti.

The hunter is lost in a cave (which is a five by five grid), where he might run into oversized bats, who will pick him up and move him to a random place in the cave, or fall to his death in a pit. He will smell the yeti when he gets close and you will have to tell him in which direction to throw his spear. If he hits the yeti, he will kill it. If he misses or walks into the yeti, the hunter will be killed.

To start the game, say, “Alexa, open Yeti Hunt Game.” To move the hunter through the cave, say, “Move [north, south, east or west].” To throw the spear, say, “Throw [north, south, east or west].”

12. Escape the Room

With Escape the Room you are trapped in a room and you must escape. You must navigate through a room, solving puzzles and finding items and objects you can interact with. There are four different rooms to choose from, each with varying levels of difficulty. You can check your stats while playing and compete with your friends or family for the best times.

To start a game, just say, “Alexa, open Escape the Room.”  

13. Song Quiz

Song Quiz will play thousands of songs from the last 60 years and the object is to guess the correct title and artist. To begin playing, just say, “Alexa, open Song Quiz.” Then select one of the playlists for different decades: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s or 2010s.

14. Millionaire Quiz Game

Millionaire Quiz Game is an unofficial Alexa version of the popular game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

You will be asked a series of 14 multiple-choice questions. Each time you answer correctly, you earn money (not real money, unfortunately) and progress to the next question. Along the way, you have three lifelines to use: 50/50, which eliminates two of the four possible answers, ask social media and phone a friend. If you answer all 14 questions correctly, you win $1,000,000. Again, not real money, sadly.

15. Deal or No Deal Game

Likewise, Deal or No Deal Game is an unofficial take on the like-named game show. There are 20 cases, filled with (not real) money, ranging from $0.01 to $1,000,000. Choose one of the cases, hoping it has the highest value possible. Then select cases to open, hoping for the lowest values possible. After opening several cases, the round will end and the banker will make an offer based on which case values are left. You decide whether it’s a deal or no deal. If you choose no deal, the game continues. If you choose to make a deal, the game ends and the original case you chose is opened. The object is to walk away with the most (imaginary) money possible, or at least more than what was in your original case.

16. True or False?

The True or False? game is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a trivia game, which you can play with up to 20 people, wherein you are asked questions about the world. Answer with either true or false and see how much you know about the world we live in.

17. Jeopardy!

Based on the long-standing game show Jeopardy!, the official Alexa skill lets you step up to the podium and test your knowledge. You can even play the categories you saw aired on the latest episode, just don’t forget to phrase your answers with “What is…”

If you really enjoy this game, Prime Members can subscribe to Jeopardy for $1.99 per month to play Double Jeopardy! and get six additional clues every weekday.

18. Volley Trivia Showdown Game

If Jeopardy! isn’t your speed but you love trivia, Volley Trivia Showdown Game might be worth checking out. This game also asks you trivia questions that you must answer with either true or false, but unlike True or False?, you’re matched against another player from around the world. The more you play and the better you get, you’re matched with tougher opponents.

From the same developer, there are two other trivia games worth checking out: Volley Daily Trivia Game and Volley Family Trivia Game. The daily trivia game gives you seven new trivia questions every day while the family version pits you against friends and family.

19. Amazing Word Master Game

You may have played this game with your friends before, but the Amazon Word Master Game with Alexa will challenge you even more. To start, say, “Alexa, ask Word Master to play a game.” The game will start with Alexa saying a word. You have to respond with a word that starts with the last letter of the word Alexa said. The more letters, the more points you score. Alexa then does the same and the game continues until you can’t respond or you exit the game.

20. Would You Rather For Family

Would You Rather has always been a fun party game and you can now play it with Alexa. There are multiple versions, but if you enable the skill called Would You Rather For Family, the prompts will be kept PG. In essence, Alexa will prompt you with a choice of two funny situations and you choose one of them. There are no winners or losers, just silly answers and lots of laughter and fun to be had.

21. Heads Up!

Heads Up! is the wildly popular game played on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Your Alexa speaker will deal you a “card” and give you clues to help you try to guess the correct word. Try to guess before the time runs out. You can play this game by yourself or with a group of friends.

Heads Up! comes with three free decks to choose from, but you can purchase additional decks from within the skill. A set of five additional decks will set Amazon Prime members back just $0.99 (£0.74 or AU$1.30) while non-Prime members will have to pay (£2.24 or AU$3.92). For more mature audiences, adult-only decks are also available. 

22. Bosch: A Detective’s Case

Based on the Amazon original show Bosch, Bosch: A Detective’s Case will put you in the detective’s shoes. Working with Harry Bosch and the LAPD, you have just one day to find a woman who mysteriously disappeared. You’ll need to make the right decisions along the way and avoid the false leads you come by. 

23. Categories Game

The Categories Game skill is a fast-paced word game much like Scattergories. You’re given a set of categories and a letter. Then you have to quickly come up with words that begin with the given letter for each of the categories before time is up. Compete with friends and family to see who can get the highest score.

You’re scored on how quickly and accurately you answer each category. For example, if you do not get a particular category or provide a wrong answer, the score for that category in that round is zero. If you answer correctly, your score is 50 minus the number of seconds it takes you to answer.

Watch this: ‘Hey, Disney!’ explained: Disney’s twist on Alexa for home and hotels

24. Rush Order

Rush Order is a game created by Amazon that requires Echo Buttons. You’ll be making smoothies by pressing the Echo Buttons in the correct order. The Buttons will change colors rapidly and their colors will correspond with different ingredients (red might be for strawberries while green could be for limes). Make sure to make the smoothies in the correct order.

25. The Fake News Game

The Fake News Game is a lot like True or False? You’re given ridiculous headlines and must choose whether it’s actual news or fake news. You can play this game alone or with up to 20 friends. Just try to remember the world we live in. You’ll be surprised at what’s actually real news, and you might lose some faith in humanity.

Bonus: Freeze Dancers

A fun game from the “old days” was freeze dance where you’d have to nominate one person from the group to start and stop the music from playing while everyone else danced. When the music stops, the last person moving is out. With Freeze Dancers, you can leave the boring part up to Alexa and all the players get to have fun. Simply say, “Alexa, start freeze dancers,” and get ready to boogie.

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