The Best Alexa Games for Kids and Families, With Honest Age Notes

Kids take to Alexa games quickly. There's nothing to read, no controller to fight over, and they get to boss a speaker about, which they love. The hard part for parents is finding games that are fun, free to try and pitched at the right age.

Here are our favourite Alexa games for kids and families, grouped by age and type, with the exact words to say. We've been honest about which ones suit little ones and which are better for older children.

A Quick Note for Parents

None of the games below is a dedicated children's skill in Amazon's catalogue. They're family games, made for everyone, so they're best played with a grown-up nearby, especially with younger children. On Amazon, most Alexa games, including Animal Sounds, Big Fart, Quiz Games and Puzzle Games, are labelled Guidance Suggested. Our age notes are our own suggestions from playing them, not official ratings.

Many Alexa games offer extras you can buy. If you'd rather your children didn't, you can turn off voice purchasing, or set a voice code for it, in the Alexa app's settings.

Best for Younger Children

These need nothing more than a yes, a no, a name or a number, so they work well for little ones who are just getting the hang of talking to Alexa.

Animal Sounds

Animal Sounds has real recordings of more than 240 animals, from an alpaca to a yak, and each one comes with a fun fact. It's a lovely one for toddlers and preschoolers, who can ask for the same pig sound twenty times in a row. Say "Alexa, ask Animal Sounds for a pig sound".

Zombie Racing and Reindeer Racing

In Zombie Racing, four zombies lurch round a graveyard racetrack. Your child picks the one they think will win, then cheers it to the finish, and a winning pick earns Zombie Boogers. The zombies are cartoony rather than scary, but if your child is easily spooked, Reindeer Racing is the same idea with Santa's reindeer dashing through the snow. Both are pure luck, so little ones can beat their big brothers fair and square.

Say "Alexa, open Zombie Racing" or "Alexa, open Reindeer Racing".

Happy Birthday

Not a game exactly, but a guaranteed hit at a party. Happy Birthday sings to the birthday child by name, and you can ask for dogs, cats or an opera singer to do the singing instead. There's even a countdown of up to 40 minutes, so Alexa can burst into song just as the cake comes in. Say "Alexa, open Happy Birthday", then "sing to" and their name.

Monsters, Pets and Stories

Pet My Monster

In Pet My Monster, your child hatches an egg, names the monster inside, then keeps it fed, rested and happy, with bars for energy, happiness and health. The monster grows up as you look after it. One honest warning: if nobody visits for a few days, or a bar runs out, it's game over and you start again with a new egg, which can mean tears for some children. Say "Alexa, open Pet My Monster".

Noodle Rush

Noodle Rush is an interactive story that you steer by answering yes or no. You're broke, starving and desperate for a bowl of ramen from Slurpy's Noodle Bar, and there are 10 endings to find. Because every answer is a yes or a no, it's one of the easiest stories for younger children to follow. Say "Alexa, open Noodle Rush".

The Magic Door

From another developer, The Magic Door is an Alexa adventure with original stories and more than 17,000 ratings on Amazon US. You explore a magical land of forests, seas and castles, help a princess find her crown, find a gnome's lost key and solve riddles along the way. Say "Alexa, open the Magic Door".

Puzzle and Memory Games for Growing Brains

• Granny Quest: Granny has lost her knitting, and your child guides her to it by saying up, down, left or right. The catch is that she slides until she bumps into something, so it takes a bit of planning. 20 levels, and it needs an Echo Show. Say "Alexa, open Granny Quest".
• Number Snake: Alexa reads out a string of numbers to repeat back, and the snake gets one number longer every round. Good for children who know their numbers.
• Pizza Perfect: customers at Gino's pizzeria call out their toppings and you repeat the order. A sneaky bit of memory practice.
• Sound Snap: match the pairs of silly sounds hidden behind numbered tiles. Say a number, or tap it on an Echo Show.
• Puzzle Games: ten brain games in one skill. Math Dash (quick maths questions against a 90 second clock) and Riddle Challenge are good for school-age children, and Tic Tac Toe and Join 4 come on an Echo Show. Say "Alexa, open Puzzle Games".

Silly Games Kids Love

Let's be honest: this is the section your children will actually care about.

• Fart Game: a memory game where you match pairs of fart sounds, from the Squeaker to the Thunder. Say "Alexa, open Fart Game".
• Big Fart: a prank fart machine with dozens of named farts, and a countdown for ambushing an unsuspecting grown-up. Say "Alexa, play Big Fart".
• Silly Seagull: keep a clumsy seagull flying on a beach day by eating snacks and pooping to stay light. Say "Alexa, open Silly Seagull".
• Animal Idol: your child judges a singing contest for very strange animals, from the Notorious P.I.G. to beatboxing squirrels. Say "Alexa, open Animal Idol".
• Sumo Wrestling and Power Penalties: games you win by shouting. Brilliant for burning off energy, less brilliant at bedtime.
• Workout Warrior: a drill sergeant shouts out wacky workout moves and you copy them. Good for a rainy afternoon.

Best for Older Kids

These involve listening carefully to clues, remembering who said what and a bit of reasoning, so they suit confident older children (and their parents, who'll want to join in).

• Escape the Mansion: a ghost called Lord Mortimer, who badly wants to be scary, locks you in his mansion. Look around, find useful things and combine them to escape, with hints from Jinx the cat. Answers are only a word or two. Say "Alexa, ask Mini Games to play Escape the Mansion".
• Potion Class: one of four classmates is a spy who keeps making potions go BOOM. Work out who before the Grand Potion. Say "Alexa, open Potion Class".
• The Werewolf: listen to the villagers' stories and spot which one is the werewolf. Say "Alexa, open The Werewolf".
• Penguin Curling: take on Captain Penguinius on the ice, choosing a power from 1 to 10 and watching the wind. Say "Alexa, open Penguin Curling".
• Quiz Games: 490 multiple choice quizzes in 15 categories. Some topics, like Capital Cities, Space and Astronomy or Animal Kingdom, are great for curious kids. Say "Alexa, open Quiz Games".
• Akinator: think of a character, real or made up, and the genie asks questions until it guesses who you're thinking of. Children love trying to stump it. Say "Alexa, open Akinator".

Games We'd Save for Grown-Ups

A couple of games from the same makers that we'd hold back from younger children. Nuclear War is a strategy game about an international crisis and nuclear threats, so it's not one for little ones. And Alien Friend is a chat with Cosmo, an alien who is an AI character, so it's better with a grown-up around to keep an eye on the conversation.

How Free Play Works

All the Mini Games above, from Zombie Racing to Escape the Mansion, are in one skill. Mini Games is free to enable, and free players can play up to 10 games a day. Some games have their own daily limit too. If your family plays a lot, Unlimited Mini Games removes the limits.

Most games work on any Echo, including an Echo Dot. Granny Quest, Blob Battle, Emoji Game and the Tappables hub need an Echo Show, and on an Echo Show every game comes with pictures to watch along.

Looking for more? Our big list of games you can play with Alexa covers quizzes, TV quiz shows and party games too.