9 to 5 Typing from 1984 was an educational program designed to teach ten-finger touch typing on the Commodore 64, combining instruction with quirky, animated mini-games. Aimed at making typing practice more engaging, the game uses humor and time-based challenges to reinforce typing accuracy and speed. One mini-game features a woman being pursued by a man—type too slowly and he catches her, type quickly and she escapes. In another scenario, a woman swings a lasso and, with fast enough typing, successfully ropes a man standing across from her. The faster and more accurately you type the prompted words or phrases, the better the outcomes. The game relies on real-time feedback and animated reactions to encourage improvement, with no traditional scores or levels—just fun visual cues that reinforce performance. Although basic by modern standards, 9 to 5 Typing stands out for adding playful narrative elements to what was otherwise a dry learning task in the 1980s.

There are so many things about this title that are just so 1980s.  The title 9 to 5 was licensed from Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp, based on the movie and song by the same name.  And the promotional ad—featuring an almost-but-not-quite Dolly Parton look-alike—might be the most gloriously over-the-top piece of software marketing ever created.  For the record, we’re huge Dolly Parton fans, and she’s absolutely one of America’s Greatest Treasures. One part educational typing program, and one part fever dream, 9 to 5 Typing somehow turned gender dynamics, cowboy lassos, and timed keystrokes into a learning experience.  Yes, the 1980s were a time when you could teach keyboarding to children by animating a woman being chased through an office by her boss…but just to make it fair and balanced, she could also lasso him (and then what?). The program means well, works hard (at least from 9 to 5), but it deserves a retirement party with sheet cake and punch.  We’re going to file it under “historical curiosity” and let it just hold that special place in our neon-colored hearts.  It had charm, devotion, stumbled in the kitchen and poured itself a cup of ambition, but reviving it would make us crazy if we let it.