APRIL 2020 PCWorld 115type—for example, “OK, Google, tell me a
princess story,” or “OK, Google, tell me a
story about dinosaurs,” or “OK, Google, tell
me a bedtime story.” You can also ask for a
specific story—for example, “OK, Google,
tell me the story of Snow White,” or “OK,
Google, tell me the Hansel and Gretel story.”
If you’re looking for something a little less
involved than a story, you can also ask
Google Home to read a poem or tell a joke.- PLAY GAMES
Interactive audio games are one of the many
ways Google Home can keep you and your
friends entertained. Google Home
integrates with hundreds of third-party
games—everything from trivia to hangman
to choose-your-own-adventure games—
many of which can be played on your own or
with a group. Google Home can even help
you with your options, just say, “OK,
Google, what games can you play?” or “OK,
Google, what trivia games can you play?”
Here are some games we recommend
trying:
“OK, Google, play Song Quiz” or “OK,
Google, play SongPop.” In these two
musical guessing games, you try to guess
the song title and artist from a short clip.
“OK, Google, play [trivia game].” A
handful of trivia game options: Are you
feeling lucky? Try Star Wars Trivia Challenge,
Marvel Movie Quiz, Animal Trivia, Space
Trivia, Tricky Mind Trivia, or TriviaCrack.
Google, help me relax,” or “OK, Google,
play ambient noise” for a random pick. You
can also ask for specific sounds by name:
Relaxing sounds, nature sounds, water
sounds, running water sounds, babbling
brook sounds, oscillating fan sounds,
fireplace sounds, forest sounds, country
night sounds, ocean sounds, rain sounds,
river sounds, thunderstorm sounds, and
white noise.
Google Home also features a sleep
timer, which you can set by duration (e.g.,
two hours) or by time (e.g., 1 a.m.). To set a
sleep timer using Google Home’s ambient
tracks, say, “OK, Google, play [sound] for
[duration],” or “OK, Google, stop playing
[sound] in [duration].” You can also say, “OK,
Google, play [sound] until [time],” or “OK,
Google, stop playing [sound] at [time].”
- LISTEN TO A STORY
You probably shouldn’t use Google Home
to replace real-life storytime, but it can work
in a pinch if you need to entertain your kids
(or yourself). Just say, “OK, Google, tell me a
story,” and Google Home will play a short,
random children’s story from its library of
stories (don’t worry, all the stories are family
friendly). The stories come from third-party
apps and are fully voiced and narrated, so
you don’t need to worry—you’re not going
to be subjected to the Google Assistant
voice robotically stuttering through a tale.
You can narrow the story down by