Home » Front Page Amazon & Lego just launched their first toy collaboration – A playtime storyteller for Lego Duplo blocks Amazon & Lego just launched their first toy collaboration – A playtime storyteller for Lego Duplo blocks 559 Views Save Saved Removed 0

Lego has unveiled an Alexa story skill that guides younger children (aged 2 to 5) through playtime with Duplo blocks. The new LEGO Duplo Stories allows your child to fuse technology and hands-on play and now LEGO wants to give your child a break from total screen time by combining the power of Alexa’s storytelling with actual brick to brick LEGO play.

The skill is available in the US and UK on any Alexa-ready device, and works with existing Duplo sets. There’s no doubt that Lego sees this as a clever sales strategy, but it’s also a rare experiment in combining a voice assistant with playtime. Lego sees this as a way to spark more learning and creativity for kids who are often too young to read.

So how does LEGO Duplo Stories work? So long as you have an Alexa enabled device, just tell your Echo or Echo Dot, “Alexa, open LEGO Duplo Stories” and you’re in.

The user follows voice prompts through a story format. Currently, the Stories feature has 10 themes, based on Duplo toys. There are five vehicle and five animal stories that Alexa guides the user through. Your child interacts with the toys as the voice assistant provides play prompts. And don’t worry if your child doesn’t have the precise Duplo bricks to build with. Your child can still interact with Stories, using other pieces.

James Poulter, Head of Emerging Platforms & Partnerships, the LEGO Group, said (in a press release), “Voice services and the Smart Speakers they live on are changing the way we listen to our favourite audio content, shop for products and now how we play together. The new LEGO DUPLO Stories skill is one of the first Alexa skills to bring together physical play with interactive audio content, allowing preschool kids and the adults in their lives to build stories and creations together.”

Personally i know a lot of adults who still like to play with Lego, but dont expect this to be aimed at anybody over the age of 5… at least not just yet!!