The Oregon Trail is not just a game, it's a cherished piece of gaming history that transported players to a bygone era of exploration and survival.
If you’ve ever dreamt of traversing the American frontier as a pioneer, making crucial decisions, and hunting for food along the Oregon Trail, then The Oregon Trail is the game for you.
In this historical educational strategy video game, you’ll be transported back to the year 1848, leading a covered wagon party from Independence, Missouri, to the fertile Willamette River and valley in Oregon.
Your leadership skills will be tested as you make choices about supplies, resource management, and your route while overcoming various challenges and setbacks.
Historical Beginnings
The Oregon Trail has a rich historical background. It was initially created as a text-based game in 1971 and later published by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) in 1975.
The game was re-imagined and released in its graphical form in 1985 for the Apple II. The year is 1848, and you’ll assume the role of a wagon leader guiding a group of settlers from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon’s Willamette Valley via a covered wagon.
You’ll make pivotal decisions on supplies, resource management, and the route you take while navigating treacherous rivers and facing unpredictable events such as storms and disease.
Creating an Educational Icon
The game was the brainchild of a dedicated team at MECC led by game designer R. Philip Bouchard. Over a ten-month period from 1984 to 1985, they crafted this educational masterpiece. The Oregon Trail marked a pivotal shift for MECC, transitioning from games and software on mainframe computers to home computers.
It was MECC’s first product primarily aimed at home consumers rather than schools.
The game made history by being one of the first educational video games of its kind, blending entertainment and learning seamlessly.
The Journey
As you embark on your journey to Oregon, you’ll face a series of challenging decisions. You start by selecting your character’s profession: banker, carpenter, or farmer.
Each choice comes with its own difficulty level and an initial sum of money to begin your journey. Then, you’ll name your character and the four members of your party.
You’ll need to purchase essential supplies like oxen, food, clothing, ammunition, and spare wagon parts from Matt’s General Store.
The journey is divided into sixteen segments, each concluding at a landmark, such as a river crossing or a fort. These landmarks offer various choices, like acquiring supplies, conversing with fellow travelers, or deciding how to cross a river.
You’ll need to make critical choices when navigating rivers, including fording, caulking, or paying for a ferry. The state of the river and weather conditions affect your chances of crossing without any hiccups.
Along the way, the prices for supplies rise, and you’ll need to make the right decisions to ensure your party’s survival.
Surviving the Trail
The journey between landmarks involves traveling for days over hundreds of miles. You’ll receive updates on the date, weather conditions, the health of your party, available food supplies, distances to the next landmark, and the distance covered.
Embrace the spirit of the pioneers on a treacherous journey to the Wild West.
Random events can occur, like storms causing delays or party members falling ill. The player can control the pace of travel, the amount of daily food rations, rest periods, trade with other parties, and even hunt for food.
The hunting component is presented as a mini-game where you control a character who shoots animals for food. Careful resource management and strategic choices are key to success on the trail. The game concludes when your party either reaches Willamette Valley or when all members succumb to illness or injury.
Your performance is scored based on several factors, creating a sense of competition and replayability.
The Oregon Trail: A Legacy Preserved
The Oregon Trail has left an indelible mark in the world of education and gaming. It gained immense popularity in schools during the 1980s and 1990s, serving as an effective teaching tool.
The game’s enduring legacy has earned it a place in the World Video Game Hall of Fame. Generations of players have experienced the trials and tribulations of the trail, making it a cultural landmark.
Play The Oregon Trail online
The Oregon Trail game is accessible online, without the need for downloads or emulators.
You can relive the experience in your web browser, making it a convenient option for both desktop and mobile devices. Play The Oregon Trail online, in a web browser.
Conclusion
The Oregon Trail is not just a video game, it’s a piece of educational history.
With its roots dating back to the 1970s, the game has introduced countless players to the trials and tribulations of westward expansion in the 19th century.
The combination of historical context, strategic decision-making, and resource management makes it a compelling and enduring experience.
This game is great for class
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What is the worst disease in this game.
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I made it to the top ten BTW i’m in school in festus and i’m in 6th
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BEST GAME EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Good Game. I named everyone after Nordic countries. My best friend named all of her characters after the diseases in the game. Dysentery got Dysentery.
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If you name them diseases, they would probably be cursed with diseases!
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THats funny
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that’s cool
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This game is fun and Hard. Tip: don’t go as banker at all.
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will I did
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I won twice as banker.
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Amazing game we play during social studies in school, Its beter than spending 30 minutes of my life learning about how world war 2 started LOL BEST GAME EVER, FOR ONCE I DON’T ALMOST DIE BECAUSE I’M BOARD (:
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Lol
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I love this game! We’re learning about the Oregon trail and Canals in History so this game really goes into depths of how people got there! Me and my friend will start at the same time to see who can get there first. When I get told I have free time I go straight to Oregon trail. Also I personally like to start in March because I got told by my other friend that’s the best time to start! Pro tip: Don’t ever forge the river unless it’s lower than 2.5 ft because you will lose A lot of supplies and possibly people. I’ll put in my friends to see what will happens sometimes just for fun!
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IGreat game except I always die from Cholera. My friend said for everytime I get Cholera I owe her a dollar (because im scared of Cholera) I now owe her 30$
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lol
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This game is actually pretty cool. The only reason I know about it is because I needed to finish the game for an assignment lol.
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My Name is Mr. Burns
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I haven’t played this game in decades. I wanted to relive the experience. I went as a Carpenter and got 3rd in top ten. Left in March. I have a good memory. I put the name as Nathan W. Bond who was my ancestor who actually travelled the Oregon Trail in 1953. He Homesteaded around 600 acres in Linn County on the banks of Santiam River.
nice dude you are good at the game
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Yah this game is awesome
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wow that’s really amazing! I wish my ancestors traveled the Oregon trail!
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That is crazy
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My friend beat your record and got third place. We had to do this for an assignment.
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I love this game and I to play it and put my friends names in it just to see who dies first!
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i also enjoy doing that
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Same I love playing this with my friends at school and adding each other into the game
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honestly me too
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pro tip: do not try to ford the first river. this mistake WILL kill bill gates and captain falcon.
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i think that 90% of the uses of the words ‘dysentery’ and ‘typhoid’ is just this game alone.
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it was very easy to get to the end but the when I got to the top ten leaderboard it did not load me in to it.
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it made me shine bright like a diamnanananodjngjurogijrtgiourjtgjn 🐺
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our teacher made us play this it is really fun!
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same
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eh im my opinion its not that fun but we all have different opinions
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wagon is love wagon is life once i got the cold i’m dead inside…
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the wagon is love the wagon is life.
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LOL BEST GAME!!!
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Anyone else playing this in school?
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Yep! (I now like to play on free time i try to get first place :>).
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playing it at school 2 really good game
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My teacher requires us to win this game for homework lol
We’re learning about the oregon trail in a big unit before state testing so this is his way of letting us have fun and chill lolReply
Yes 6th period history!
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this game is the best
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i love this game
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its okey
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its a hack it didn’t save my game
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Made it top 100 super good I’m so smart and made it in 99th place made me so happy and left my family behind we all died
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This game made me sad very sad amd me cry cry ma family cry cry and died on the trail
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I always die after the Snake River Crossing.
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I used to be in top 10 and this game is fun
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I finished four times, every time I made it into the top ten, and once in the top five. also finished in 5 minutes
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I made it to top five and finished in 5 minutes
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I love this game but I still can’t figure out how to save it, I skipped the tutorial thing of how to figure out how to save it but now I can’t figure out how. I could probably look it up but I’m too lazy, LOL
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i love this game and also 8A was here
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top ten in like 10 minutes too easy
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i got top ten in five minutes
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top ten in 2 minutes to easy and I got 7th and 8th place beat that!
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all my family died, I’m so bad but i can’t stop playing this amazing game. 😭
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i made top ten and saved yet it never said i made it once i ended the run
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good gayme
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I always place first place
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This is the best game that I have ever played! I love this game! Woohoo!
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I win every time
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Awsome game indeed
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great game
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SCOTLAND FOREVER!!!!!!! 🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴
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how to play it? someone please tell me
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bestle i sugjest the banker buy max foood 5 pairs of clothes 4 oxen and three of each weal part and maybe like 17 boxes of amo
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if you can’t figure out how to get past the naming part you have to type yes or no if your names are correct.
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If the names are the right then type yes
If there not right then type noReply
it is SOO Fun anyway
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Yeah everyone died even the baby my friend thinks dying is cool she’s also playing
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How do I get to the in game menu to save?
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There is no way to save while on the trail. So at the end of each route it will save the game, and you will start from the last saved check point.
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I LOVE THIS I WIN ALMOST EVERY TIME
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this is a great game to play and is really fun game to play but it is really not the game for me if i wanted to play a game this is not the game that I will get on and play because this game is just not fun to me and is not the game that I will have fun on in my free time
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How do i save game
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First, save the game directly within the game, in the game menu. Then click on the floppy disk icon in the bottom right corner of the screen. This action will save the game state in the browser’s memory.
When you reload the game, the saved state will be automatically loaded, allowing you to resume from your saved position.
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First, save the game directly within the game, in the game menu. Then click on the floppy disk icon in the bottom right corner of the screen. This action will save the game state in the browser’s memory.
When you reload the game, the saved state will be automatically loaded, allowing you to resume from your saved position.
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How to win: Go in March, Be a Banker, Buy 5 yoke, 2000 lbs food, 5 sets of clothes, 50 boxes of ammo, 3 of each part, and ferry or float every river, and change pace to grueling.
How to lose: Be a banker, Go in June, buy 10 yoke, 3 of each part, change pace to grueling, change meals to bare bones, and ford every river.
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gonna lose every game now :0
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Totally worked
i’v already won 5 times in a row thanks u duh man!Reply
This game is AWESOME. The sheer excitement of wondering whether you will make it across the river is terrifying and amazing. This game is a national treasure and will hold a place in the hearts of gamers forever. The mechanics for the time were breathtaking and still are. No remaster or reboot of the game can ever compare to the original. This game is truly an absolute masterpiece of human creation. you can also play it in class and the teachers don’t care, since it’s about history. It is a true and amazing wonder of the world.
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FRFRFR BEST GAME ONGOD🔥
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flipin hecken cool game
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I love this game. I play it all the time in class. Don’t tell my teachers!!! LOL🔥
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Same 🙂
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Good game, and I enjoy playing as my friends and decimating their perfect save files!:)
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Don’t worry at all, this issue with overwriting save files will be resolved soon. 😛
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i’m always first
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I can not see my top ten on the board but amazing game.
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I enjoy putting my friend’s names into it, and then seeing how long it takes until they die XD. Dark, I know.
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This is an awesome game.
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Yes so awesome I made it into the top ten
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I made it once i think
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Made it four times
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the game is good
i beat it 2 timesReply
so did I!
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Agreed
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i beat it 5 times, once in five minutes and top five every time
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I was able to die before the Kansas River on purpose
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thank you I’d love to make other game for you guys and hope you will like it
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Yes, you’re right.
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I tried saving my data but it didn’t save I think its a hack
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This game is boring
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Mr bently made us do it and its fun and i rilly liked it
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You got that right
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Best game
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The top ten never saves though
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Awesome! Made it to the top ten!
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