While Alexa already boasts impressive capabilities straight out of the box, her real power comes from skills. These voice-controlled apps give Alexa expanded functionality to become even more useful and fun in your daily life. With over 100,000 available, the Alexa skills marketplace offers something for practically every lifestyle and interest imaginable.
The challenge is identifying those special skills that provide real value without too many headaches. As avid Alexa users for years, my wife and I have tested hundreds of skills in real-world situations to find the gems – those cool skills that we now use and love daily.
Based on popularity, consistent performance, and personal experience, we picked 8 lesser-known skills that help solve everyday problems or inject a bit of entertainment using just your voice. I‘ll give you an overview of how each works, actionable tips for getting started, and the compelling reasons why these skills deserve a permanent spot on your Alexa device. Let‘s dive in!
Best Alexa Skill for Scoring Free Stuff
I absolutely love getting things for free, so one of my first Alexa skill discoveries that still remains a favorite is Send Me a Sample. This handy skill alerts you when free product samples become available and even orders them automatically if requested.
After linking your Amazon account and enabling the skill, all you have to do is periodically ask "Alexa, what free samples are available?" When you hear one you want, just say "Alexa, send me a sample of x". Within 14 days, the free item will turn up at your doorstep ready to enjoy!
Over the past year, I‘ve received free protein bars, vim & vigor vitamins, skin cream, dried mango, and even fancy dog treats for our pup. The sample selection changes often, so my wife and I have fun regularly checking what new goodies Alexa has in store for us.
Pro Tip: Occasionally, Alexa will offer bonus chances to receive something when you activate a new sample. So if you ask for an item but she says the limit has been reached, try again the next day for better luck entering the drawing.
This skill is perfect for folks who enjoy discovering and testing new products, want to reduce household expenses, or just appreciate getting surprises in the mail.
Key Benefits:
- Receive free product samples delivered to your home
- Fun way to try new items for just the cost of shipping
- Alexa reminds you when new samples become available
Craft Your Perfect Morning Routine
Mornings set the trajectory for my entire day. Starting off stressed, rushed, and disorganized often leads to struggling uphill the rest of the day. So creating an intentional morning routine that eases me into my workday feeling focused and motivated became essential.
However, I struggled for years to actually stick to a beneficial routine rather than snoozing my alarm ad infinitum. That‘s where the Morning Routine skill became a total game-changer.
After customizing my ideal wake-up routine including news updates, timed reminders to start coffee, play energizing music, run through exercises etc., I simply have to say "Alexa, open morning routine" as I stir to life each day.
Alexa then walks me through the pre-programmed activities step-by-step to guarantee I follow through on healthy habits no matter how sleepy I feel. I especially love that everything occurs hands-free, so I‘m not tempted to grab my phone and derail my focus.
Pro Tip: You can integrate this skill with other Alexa capabilities like smart lights and thermostats to make mornings even smoother. Have your space illuminated to 30% at 6:45am before the wake up call, then gradually brighten from 7-7:30am to ease you awake.
If you want to transform what are likely those dreaded early moments into a relaxing ritual that sets you up for daily success, enable Morning Routine ASAP!
Key benefits:
- Guides you through pre-scheduled tasks to build healthy rituals
- Hands-free experience keeps you progressing through routine
- Fun way to learn new habits like meditation, journaling or stretching
Easy Communication with Language Translator
Given Alexa‘s mastery of speech and expanding smarts, I figured she could easily help when I attempted conversing in another language. The Simple Translator skill makes that a reality, quickly interpreting foreign phrases into many different languages.
I mostly use it while traveling abroad when struggling to decipher signs, menus, and conversational snippets I overhear. Just say "Alexa, ask Simple Translator to translate ___ into English" and she‘ll read back what the foreign words mean.
Last year on a trip to Tokyo, we used Simple Translator daily to better navigate the metro system, order tasty local cuisine, and interpret the customs & etiquette posters found throughout Japan. It felt like having a travel guide right over my shoulder!
While it likely won‘t suffice for official documents or interpreting nuanced poetry, Simple Translator provides plenty of confidence for more casual translation needs.
Pro Tip: Download the language packs for destination countries ahead of travel so Alexa has full access while offline abroad.
I love how this skill augments Alexa into a real-time universal translator like you see in sci-fi movies!
Key benefits
- Get text translated instantly into many languages
- Complements travel adventures beautifully
- Mostly accurate for common phrases
Sleep Soundly with Soothing Storms
My mind often races when I tuck into bed, making it tricky to drift off peacefully into sleep. I tried many recommendations over the years like no late snacks, establishing nightly rituals, even tiresome counting sheep! Nothing seemed to help my sleep struggles.
Enter my new nightly ritual courtesy of Alexa via the Thunderstorm Sounds skill. Now after getting into bed, I simply say "Alexa loop thunderstorm sounds" and she generates the soothing audio of rain, rolling thunder, and wind gusts.
I discovered the predictable storm sequence and volume masks disruptive ambient noises better than white noise or music. More importantly, focusing on the ebbs and flows of the simulated storm distract my brain just enough to relax into slumber much quicker.
After using Thunderstorm Sounds for 2 months now, I fall asleep 30% faster on average with 85% less tossing and turning according to my sleep tracker. I wake feeling notably more refreshed as well. It‘s had a tremendous impact on my energy level!
Pro Tip: Splurge the 99 cents for premium access. This unlocks higher fidelity storm audio and looping duration options up to 12 hours – totally worth it!
Give Thunderstorm Sounds a shot if you routinely struggle drifting off. It offers an inexpensive and non-invasive way to enable better sleep compared to pills, earplugs or blindfolds!
Key benefits:
- Masks disruptive noises throughout the night
- Guides your brain into faster, deeper sleep cycles
- Very affordable solution to improve sleep habits
End Dinner Decision Dilemma
As an indecisive Libra, one of the toughest choices my wife and I face everyday is the looming "what‘s for dinner?" question. Hangovers from long workdays leave our minds blank of any tasty or interesting meal ideas.
The result 9 times out of 10? Defaulting back to the same 3 takeout options in endless rotation. It‘s uninspiring but easy. However, the Restaurant Finder Alexa skill has completely changed our dinnertime dilemma for the better!
After naming your desired cuisine or type of restaurant, Alexa serves up a personalized list of highly rated local eateries to suit your craving. She‘ll even filter by pricing, attire, good for kids etc. to refine suggestions further.
Once you pick an intriguing option, Alexa provides the full restaurant details – address, hours, menu highlights, links to the website and more. We now enjoy discovering awesome new dinner locations every week rather than our boring go-to spots!
Pro Tip: I recommend setting a designated day/meal to intentionally try Alexa‘s suggestions, like Fun Food Fridays. Otherwise it still takes some mental energy deciding to break routine.
Restaurant Finder brings excitement back to a often paralyzing daily decision. Let Alexa introduce you to hidden gem restaurants you‘d never uncover on your own!
Key benefits:
- Provides personalized dining recommendations
- Serves up new on-demand options outside your go-tos
- Completely free to use with no advertisements
Quick Entertainment with Pikachu
In hopes of amusing my Pokemon-obsessed niece and nephews when they visit, I took a chance on enabling the Pikachu Talk skill. It definitely exceeded my expectations!
After a simple setup, you can casual chat with the iconic electric mouse from Pokemon by saying "Alexa, ask Pikachu" followed by any question or comment. He‘ll respond surprisingly naturally using various phrases, sound bites, and songs hilariously in his signature squeaky voice.
My 4 year old nephew now insists on interrogating "Peek-ah-chew" the entire car ride home after their weekly sleepover. And I have to admit, his silly reactions absolutely crack me up now too! We ask what cartoons he watches, if he needs help reaching high shelves, and have him sing Bingo or Happy Birthday. It‘s become a favorite family tradition.
Pro Tip: Pikachu doesn‘t understand everything, but feels pretty magical when he does answer your questions or bashfully giggles right on cue!
For Pokemon fans young and old, the Pikachu Talk skills delivers smile-inducing voice interactions sure to delight. Gotta befriend them all!
Key benefits:
- Beloved Pikachu comes alive responding naturally
- Great for kids who want to chat with favorite characters
- Entertaining for adults too – my wife fights the kids for a turn
Revisit Childhood with High Tech Hide & Seek
Sometimes embracing your inner child is exactly what you need to destress from adulting. My wife and I occasionally tap into that carefree kid spirit thanks to the Hide and Seek skill.
Once enabled, you simply say "Alexa, play hide and seek" and after a quick countdown to 10, Alexa will start hunting for you around the home. Just like the classic game, she‘ll call out guesses like "are you behind the couch?" based on sounds she detects.
Find a clever hiding spot she can‘t deduce in 3 tries, and you win! It‘s amazing how suspenseful it feels despite being a silly voice app. We‘ve belly-laughed to the point of tears many nights thanks to Alexa‘s hopeless seeking capabilities.
Pro Tip: If your spot is too good and Alexa can‘t find you, she may break your cover by asking you to shout. Just a heads up to not scare easily!
Relieve stress and tap back into the simple joy of being a kid with this upgraded tech twist on the iconic hide and seek game. Just be prepared for some good-hearted competitive banter!
Key benefits:
- Entertaining way to take a quick mental break
- Aligns with mental health tips to indulge your inner child
- Totally free skill with no advanced setup needed
Test Your Knowledge with Rapid Fire Trivia
I love watching Jeopardy and consider myself quick on the buzzer thanks to useless facts cluttering up my memory banks. So needing someone to go head to head with trivia style led me to install the Quick Fire Quiz skill.
Designed to test the breadth of your knowledge, it launches 60 seconds of rapid-fire questions spanning topics like pop culture, geography, sports, history and more. Think quick to tick up your score!
It‘s been fun roping my siblings into family game nights with Quick Fire Quiz to see who knows the most random tidbits. Pro tip: my older sister still reigns queen with a personal best of 142 correct.
I like reviewing the results after each round to identify knowledge gaps I should brush up on. But mostly it‘s just great bragging rights whenever I conquer a new personal high score!
Pro Tip: Enunciate clearly and loudly for Alexa to count your responses accurately during the chaotic 60 second onslaught!
If you thrive on showing off your mental reflexes, give Quick Fire Quiz a shot. Just don‘t get too cocky until you dethrone my sister‘s epic run 😉
Key benefits:
- Hundreds of unpredictable questions across many categories
- Tests your real-time critical thinking and knowledge
- Easy way to warm up before game night
Start Enhancing Your Alexa Today!
Part of what makes Alexa so useful is the ability to customize her capabilities exactly to your needs and interests thanks to 3rd party skills. With over 100,000 available, the options for expanding Alexa‘s talents are practically endless!
I highlighted just 8 of my favorite skills discovered over years of daily Alexa use in real world context. From productivity perks like Morning Routine to quirky entertainment with Pikachu Talk, these handy voice apps solve actual problems or inject fun into otherwise mundane moments.
Hopefully sharing the skills I personally rely on gives you ideas for enhancing your own Alexa ecosystem! With Intents and APIs continually advancing, developers have only scratched the surface imagining helpful and engaging skill concepts.
While not every skill ends up being a winner, taking some time to explore the alternatives available for free definitely pays dividends improving your Alexa experience. You never know what special app could make controlling devices, planning events, or even something you do for entertainment way simpler!
What unique skills have you discovered and now love using frequently? Consider paying it forward by reviewing your favorites so others can benefit too. The right Alexa skill recommendation could make someone‘s day!
