Students from around the world responded to our game skill challenge and brought their ideas for voice-enabled games to life by participating in the Build the Ultimate Game for Amazon Alexa contest. The contest challenged students to think outside the box and build engaging game skills that people would love to play with Alexa.

We enjoyed reviewing all of the innovative submissions, which made the selection process tough. After using the contest judging criteria to review entries, we are pleased to announce the winner and top finalists.

Meet the Winner and Finalists

Winner – Rhyme Game by Jonathan Weber from Florida Polytechnic University

Rhyme Game is a fun yet simple game to test your vocabulary knowledge. The game challenges you in a quick duel with Alexa to see who can lose the rhyme first. Start with a word and the first to say a word that doesn’t rhyme loses. It’s harder than you think!

Prize: $1,000 and an Amazon Echo

Top Finalist – How Many by Jeff Savin from Georgia Tech

How Many is an addictive educational game that challenges you to guess how many “things” are in different categories. For example, Alexa can ask “How many days does June have” and you have three chances to guess the right number.

Prize: $300

Top Finalist – Word Explode by Mustafa Bhatkar from Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Engineering in Navi Mumbai

Word Explode is a tricky game that challenges you to create three-letter words from a random five-letter word. If you are stuck, you can ask for the spelling of the word or ask to hear it again.

Prize: $300

Thanks to all of the participants who submitted their creative Alexa skills. MindSumo will contact the winner and top finalists for their prizes.

About the Alexa Skills Kit

The Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) enables developers to build capabilities, or skills, for Alexa. ASK is a collection of self-service APIs, documentation, tools, and code samples that make it fast and easy for anyone to add skills to Alexa.

Developers have built more than 25,000 skills with ASK. Explore the stories behind some of these innovations, start building your own skill, and learn more about how Alexa can transform education.

Build a New Skill, Earn Developer Perks

Bring your big idea to life with Alexa and earn perks through our tiered rewards system. US developers, publish a skill before the end of the year, and receive an Alexa developer hoodie. If 100 customers use your skill in its first 30 days in the Alexa Skills Store, you can also apply to receive a free Echo Dot to help you make Alexa even smarter. If you need inspiration, consider creating a holiday-themed skill to get into the holiday spirit. If you're not in the US, check out our promotions in the UK, Germany, and India. Learn more about our promotion and start building today.