5 Fun Games You Can Play With the Amazon Echo | CNET

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The Amazon Echo is an amazing addition to any smart home. It not only makes controlling your other smart devices fun to show off, it makes it controlling them easier. Alexa’s handy abilities even reach outside your home, helping locate where you parked, telling you how much gas is in your car’s tank and letting your order pizza.

With the help of some of Alexa’s third-party skills, the Echo can also become the life of your dinner party. It’s full of parlor tricks, easter eggs and corny jokes.

What you may not have known, however, is that you can play games with the Amazon Echo. It can be challenging and surprisingly fun.

Here are some of the best games you can play on your Amazon Echo.

Bingo

Bingo is a timeless classic. To play it on your Echo, open the Amazon Alexa app on your smartphone or go to echo.amazon.com from a computer and open the Skills menu. Search for Bingo and click Enable.

To start a game, say “Alexa, open Bingo.” Each number called by the Echo 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.

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

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.”

The Echo will then speak Alexa’s move, and you will have to speak your next move. For example, say, “top left” or “bottom.”

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock

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

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.

Abra

Try to stump Alexa with Abra. It’s essentially a form of 21 questions, where you select a character and answer a series of yes-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 the questions. Don’t be surprised when you can’t stump the Echo.

Blackjack (Beat The Dealer)

You can also play Blackjack with the Amazon Echo. First, enable the skill titled Beat The Dealer. Once enabled, say, “Alexa, ask the dealer to play Blackjack.”

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 they busted or you won.

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

Bonus: Dice

Additionally, if you lost the dice from a board game, you can ask Alexa to roll two virtual dice for you. Say “Alexa, roll two dice.” The Echo will then tell you what it rolled.

You can get a bit more specific with it, as well. Say, “Alexa, roll 15 10-sided dice.” The Echo will list the results for each die.

 

Source: 5 Fun Games You Can Play With the Amazon Echo | CNET

 

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