Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing: Version 8

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing Version 8 is another entry in the long running series of typing tutors. One of the features of these titles is that they use games as an aid to teaching.

Apart from RagTime all of the games here are present on Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing: New UK Version 11, with slight differences. The games are:* Rag Time: Here the player is presented with a series of random words which they must type in, as they type an old mechanical piano plays a tune. The object here is to develop a fluidity and rhythm to the typing so that the music plays at the correct pace.

• Space Junk: This game has the pupil using a space ship to destroy some very odd pieces of junk. The object is to get the pupil to recognise and type common suffixes and prefixes accurately and quickly. The letter groups come in twos and threes, when the last of a group has been typed the space ship gun is charged and fires destroying the incoming object. If the player makes a mistake they can correct it, hopefully before their ship takes damage. The game ends when the station is destroyed or when the game runs out of words.

• Road Race: This game is, naturally, about speed. The player is in a car and words appear on a screen in the centre of the dashboard which the player must type in. Every mistake results in a bug splat on the windscreen , too many splats and the player will not be able to see the road and the game ends,.

• Check-out Time: This game uses only the numeric part of the keyboard and is based on a supermarket check-out. Grocery items travel down the conveyor belt and the player must enter the correct price followed by the ENTER key. Mistakes are allowed but with each error an item drops to the floor.

• Chameleon Picnic: In this game ants march across the bottom of the screen from right to left. Each ant carries the letter of a word which the player must enter correctly. Each correct letter means the ant gets eaten by the chameleon while an incorrect letter means the ant escapes. The game ends when all the ants are eaten or when too many escape, however should the player complete all the words in the list the flowers the chameleon has been protecting from the ants will bloom.

• Shark Attack: Here the player is being chased by a shark and must correctly type in random words to star ahead of it. Each error means a bug splat on the player's goggles, going to slowly means the shark gets nearer. If the player is quick and accurate they reach the treasure at the bottom of the ocean.

• Penguin Crossing: A penguin tries to cross a fast flowing stream by jumping from one ice floe to another. Each floe has a word written on it, by typing the word the player enables the penguin to jump from floe to floe and eventually reach safety. When the player makes a mistake the penguin squawks so they know there's something to correct.

After each game the player's efforts are scored in terms of their accuracy and words per minute.

The title has music, sound effects and sections have audio guidance