Mission Control: a number typing game
If you search for a "number typing game," most of what comes up practices the number row above the letters. That's useful, but it's not the number pad. We wanted a game that rewards real 10-key practice, so we built one into Home Row Mojo. It's called Mission Control.
How it plays
Meteors fall down the screen. Each one carries a number. Your child types that number, then presses Enter to fire. Once the game is unlocked, kids can play with the number row at the top of the keyboard, or with a number pad. If they use a number pad, the faster and cleaner the fingers get on 4 5 6 and the reaches around them, the better the game goes.
Three levels of difficulty
| Setting | What the meteors carry |
|---|---|
| Easy | Whole numbers |
| Medium | Bigger numbers and decimals |
| Hard | Decimals plus math meteors |
Easy is a gentle start for a kid who just learned the home keys. Medium brings in the decimal point, which is a reach for the ring finger on a right-hand pad. On Hard, type the math problem just as it shows (like 7*8) and press Enter. Don't solve it. It pairs well with the number pad math practice.
Why it unlocks later (on purpose)
Mission Control is a reward, not a starting point. It opens after your child has:
- Finished the Meet the Number Pad lesson,
- Finished the Number Pad Math lesson,
- Passed Drills Level 13: Number Pad, and
- Passed Drills Level 14: Number Pad Math.
A drill level counts as passed at 90% accuracy. Unlocking runs through those number pad lessons and drills. The lessons need a keyboard with a number pad. If your keyboard doesn't have one, an inexpensive plug-in USB number pad works. Once Mission Control is unlocked, kids can play with the number row at the top of the keyboard. Mission Control also needs a signed-in account with a typist picked, so the game knows whose progress unlocked it. Typist profiles in Home Row Mojo only use a first name or nickname.
We did it this way because a game is much more fun when your fingers already know where the keys are. Kids who play before they've learned the home position tend to hunt and peck to keep up, and that builds the wrong habit.
Getting ready for it
If your child wants to get to Mission Control, here's the path, with free practice you can do today:
- Learn the home position. The number pad finger placement chart shows every key for right and left hands.
- Do the practice sheets. The printable number pad drills cover home keys, reaches, zero, decimals, and mixed numbers.
- Try a few warm-up lines before each session:
456 654 474 585 696
414 525 636 40 50 60
4.5 0.5 19.99 4.25
A word on games and practice
Games are the dessert. Drills are the dinner. In Home Row Mojo, both matter: the lessons and drills teach the fingers, and the games give kids a reason to come back. Mission Control is one of 12 games in Home Row Mojo. Half are typing arcade games like Chicken Run and Critter Invaders. The other half are puzzle and board games, like Checkers and Four in a Row, where kids type words to make their moves (several are played against the MOJO-TRON robot).
Is it included?
Mission Control is part of the full version of Home Row Mojo, which is $29 once for the whole family. There's no subscription and no ads. You can try Home Row Mojo free as a guest first: the free version includes the first drill levels and two games, Chicken Run and Checkers, on Easy.