Granted, the “nickel and diming” of hotline numbers (1900, 0900, etc) was nowhere as bad as today’s cash shops, but a lot of us simply forgot they were always hungry for all our money
Here’s a bunch other hotline ads for you to peruse - https://www.retromags.com/gallery/category/1729-telephone-hotlines/
PS: I never understood these american numbers that used letters, how were you supposed to know what was the actual number?
I remember calling the LucasArts one for Day of the Tentacle back in the day. I don’t remember what I was stuck on exactly, I just remember hearing, “You’re playing with Hoagie in the past.” I think that’s the only game I ever called a hint line for.