diff --git a/matrixbot/commands.py b/matrixbot/commands.py
index 35fe219..49410ee 100644
--- a/matrixbot/commands.py
+++ b/matrixbot/commands.py
@@ -1231,24 +1231,32 @@ def _hangman_display(game: dict) -> str:
 
 
 async def _generate_hangman_word() -> dict | None:
-    prompt = (
-        "Generate a hangman word game. Pick a common English word between 5 and 8 letters. "
-        "Respond with ONLY valid JSON, no markdown: "
-        '{"word": "example", "hint": "a short category or hint about the word"}. '
-        "The word must be all lowercase letters only, no spaces or hyphens."
+    system_msg = (
+        "You are a hangman game generator. Always respond with ONLY a JSON object — no markdown, no explanation. "
+        'Format: {"word": "example", "hint": "short category or hint"}'
     )
+    user_msg = "Pick a common English word between 5 and 8 letters (lowercase letters only, no hyphens or spaces) and give a short hint."
     try:
         timeout = aiohttp.ClientTimeout(total=20)
         async with aiohttp.ClientSession(timeout=timeout) as session:
             async with session.post(
-                f"{OLLAMA_URL}/api/generate",
-                json={"model": ASK_MODEL, "prompt": prompt, "stream": False},
+                f"{OLLAMA_URL}/api/chat",
+                json={
+                    "model": ASK_MODEL,
+                    "stream": False,
+                    "messages": [
+                        {"role": "system", "content": system_msg},
+                        {"role": "user", "content": user_msg},
+                    ],
+                },
             ) as response:
                 data = await response.json()
-                text = data.get("response", "").strip()
-                # Strip markdown fences
+                text = data.get("message", {}).get("content", "").strip()
                 if "```" in text:
-                    text = text.split("```")[1].lstrip("json").strip()
+                    text = re.sub(r"```[a-z]*\n?", "", text).strip()
+                m = re.search(r"\{[^{}]+\}", text, re.DOTALL)
+                if m:
+                    text = m.group(0)
                 parsed = json.loads(text)
                 word = parsed.get("word", "").lower().strip()
                 hint = parsed.get("hint", "").strip()
@@ -1430,23 +1438,32 @@ _SCRAMBLE_GAMES: dict[str, dict] = {}
 
 
 async def _generate_scramble_word() -> dict | None:
-    prompt = (
-        "Pick a common English word between 4 and 8 letters. "
-        "Respond with ONLY valid JSON, no markdown: "
-        '{"word": "example"}. '
-        "The word must be all lowercase letters only, no spaces or hyphens."
+    system_msg = (
+        "You are a word game generator. Always respond with ONLY a JSON object — no markdown, no explanation. "
+        'Format: {"word": "example"}'
     )
+    user_msg = "Pick a common English word between 4 and 8 letters (lowercase letters only, no hyphens or spaces)."
     try:
         timeout = aiohttp.ClientTimeout(total=20)
         async with aiohttp.ClientSession(timeout=timeout) as session:
             async with session.post(
-                f"{OLLAMA_URL}/api/generate",
-                json={"model": ASK_MODEL, "prompt": prompt, "stream": False},
+                f"{OLLAMA_URL}/api/chat",
+                json={
+                    "model": ASK_MODEL,
+                    "stream": False,
+                    "messages": [
+                        {"role": "system", "content": system_msg},
+                        {"role": "user", "content": user_msg},
+                    ],
+                },
             ) as response:
                 data = await response.json()
-                text = data.get("response", "").strip()
+                text = data.get("message", {}).get("content", "").strip()
                 if "```" in text:
-                    text = text.split("```")[1].lstrip("json").strip()
+                    text = re.sub(r"```[a-z]*\n?", "", text).strip()
+                m = re.search(r"\{[^{}]+\}", text, re.DOTALL)
+                if m:
+                    text = m.group(0)
                 parsed = json.loads(text)
                 word = parsed.get("word", "").lower().strip()
                 if word.isalpha() and 4 <= len(word) <= 8:
@@ -1641,23 +1658,32 @@ _RIDDLE_ACTIVE: dict[str, dict] = {}
 
 
 async def _generate_riddle() -> dict | None:
-    prompt = (
-        "Generate a clever riddle and its answer. "
-        "Respond with ONLY valid JSON, no markdown: "
-        '{"riddle": "...", "answer": "..."}. '
-        "The answer should be a short word or phrase (1-4 words). Make it interesting!"
+    system_msg = (
+        "You are a riddle generator. Always respond with ONLY a JSON object — no markdown fences, no explanation. "
+        'Format: {"riddle": "the riddle text", "answer": "short answer"}'
     )
+    user_msg = "Generate a clever riddle. The answer should be 1-4 words."
     try:
         timeout = aiohttp.ClientTimeout(total=20)
         async with aiohttp.ClientSession(timeout=timeout) as session:
             async with session.post(
-                f"{OLLAMA_URL}/api/generate",
-                json={"model": ASK_MODEL, "prompt": prompt, "stream": False},
+                f"{OLLAMA_URL}/api/chat",
+                json={
+                    "model": ASK_MODEL,
+                    "stream": False,
+                    "messages": [
+                        {"role": "system", "content": system_msg},
+                        {"role": "user", "content": user_msg},
+                    ],
+                },
             ) as response:
                 data = await response.json()
-                text = data.get("response", "").strip()
+                text = data.get("message", {}).get("content", "").strip()
                 if "```" in text:
-                    text = text.split("```")[1].lstrip("json").strip()
+                    text = re.sub(r"```[a-z]*\n?", "", text).strip()
+                m = re.search(r"\{[^{}]+\}", text, re.DOTALL)
+                if m:
+                    text = m.group(0)
                 parsed = json.loads(text)
                 riddle = parsed.get("riddle", "").strip()
                 answer = parsed.get("answer", "").strip()