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Alexa’s top skills of 2018 are here to assist you in any way you can imagine

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There are now more than 70,000 certified Alexa skills you can use with Amazon Echo devices and a growing number of Alexa-compatible third-party products. If 70,000 seems like a daunting number of things to check out when you just want to have fun, Amazon organizes Alexa Skills online to help you find what you’re looking for.

This year Amazon also presented the Alexa Skills of the Year 2018. This collection of 24 Alexa skills includes what Amazon’s Alexa team considers the top skills for games, family fun, wellness, and daily habits.

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We list all 24 of 2018’s Alexa Skills of the Year below, with brief comments on the top two in each category.

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Game Skills

When you feel like playing a game, whether you’re alone or with a group, Alexa is always ready.

Beat the Intro – Musicplode Media Ltd.

This skill is an Alexa version of “Name That Tune” where the object of the game is to name the song title and artist as quickly as possible. For one to six players, Beat the Intro can also be used with two to four Echo Buttons.

Heads up! – The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Play the same game Ellen plays on her television show. Using clues provided by Alexa, try to guess a word or a name before the timer runs out.

More top game skills

Family Skills

Family Skills are fun and educational, suitable for all family members, with an emphasis on younger children.

Animal Workout – For Jack & Jill

“Welcome to Animal Workout, where you are no longer a human but an animal.”
That’s how Animal Workout begins. You can say “more” to keep going or “all done” to stop while following instructions to exercise like an animal.
First species? A penguin. First exercise? Waddle like a penguin while the music plays.
“All done.”

Chompers – Gimlet Media

Having trouble getting your kids to brush their teeth for the recommended two minutes? Just say, “Alexa, start Chompers” and she’ll tell jokes, riddles, stories, fun facts, and more for two minutes. This skill is also useful for adults.

More top family skills

Wellness Skills

From cooking tips to fitness goals and help with meditation, Alexa Wellness Skills teach and support health and fitness.

Chop Chop – Bondad

Best if you have an Echo Show or Spot so you can watch the produce prep videos, but even without video, Chop Chop talks you through simple instructions on how to chop fruits and veggies. Just say, “Alexa, chop chop” and she’ll ask what you’d to chop. The instructions are accompanied by cheery music and mild corny jokes.

Fitbit – Fitbit, Inc.

If you don’t have a Fitbit account this skill won’t do anything for you, but Fitbit users can check in to get daily progress on exercise, sleep, and the fitness metrics that matter to you.

More top wellness skills

Daily Habit Skills

Daily habit isn’t about breaking bad habits, but making new ones.

Find My Phone – Opearlo

The main application for this skill is calling your lost smartphone from one of four 866 numbers you previously stored in your contacts list so they won’t be blocked or muted. Find My Phone can also serve as a dialing assistant, calling people on your contact list.

AnyPod – Harrison Digital Media

The AnyPod Alexa skill is a podcast player. You can request specific podcasts by name or subscribe to podcasts, accessing the massive content on AnyPod. While playing a podcast you can ask Alexa to skip to the next episode or go back to the previous one. You can also fast forward or rewind specific time periods.

More top daily habit skills

Create Your Own Skills

Custom Q&A Blueprint

Amazon encourages everyone to write their own skills or to publish for the world to use. You don’t need to be a programmer to build Alexa skill because Amazon’s Alexa team created a selection of blueprints for various types of skills. You can also build a skill from scratch using the Custom Q&A Blueprint.

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Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown
Contributing Editor
Bruce Brown Contributing Editor   As a Contributing Editor to the Auto teams at Digital Trends and TheManual.com, Bruce…
The best Alexa skills for kids and teens
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Alexa skills can be fun and educational, but they're not all created equally. Some of the games are useful and entertaining, while others are bland and buggy. With that in mind, we've pulled together a list of some of the most entertaining and educational Alexa skills we could find.
Alexa skills for young children
Photo by Marisa Howenstine on Unsplash Image used with permission by copyright holder
Animal Workout
Say, "Alexa, open Animal Workout"
One of the biggest challenges when house-bound is how to channel all of that incredible kid energy. Why not let Alexa lead them in a voice-based workout routine that also engages their imagination while sharpening their play-pretend skills? Animal Workout prompts kids to imagine themselves as different animals, with a quick fact-based intro to each new animal and a short, music-accompanied activity, like wiggling like a ladybug or sticking your tongue out like a giraffe.

Unlike some Alexa skills that rely on Alexa's own voice, the professionally recorded host's voice for Animal Workout is enthusiastic and encouraging. As of December 2020, all content in the app is now totally free including expansion packs.
Freeze Dancers
Say, "Alexa, open Freeze Dancers"
Here's another one to help kids get moving. Freeze Dancers is an Alexa take on the old "freeze" game. The skill starts some music and everyone dances. When the music suddenly stops, everyone has to freeze. Each time, a voice asks, "Who didn't freeze?" You can say any name you like and the voice will offer some words of encouragement for the next round, or you can say "nobody" or "no one," and your group will be rewarded with a cheer.

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