Oct 21, 2020 This is the classic Oregon Trail Deluxe! I can distinctly remember playing this on a crappy old ASUS computer at the age of 5 with help from my stepmom in my uncle's house, along with other games like Prince of Persia and Paperboy. The Oregon Trail was developed way back in 1971 on university mainframes then jumped over to early 8-bit home computer systems. Continuing through 4 decades it has reappeared in many editions (at least 10), was a colossal commercial success in its heyday, and remains popular today.

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1. The Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail

DOS - 1990

Also available on: Mac - Windows 3.x - Apple II

Description of The Oregon Trail

There are few video games more fondly remembered than the Oregon Trail. It has inspired countless gamers and spawned countless memes. Still, it is hard to say how much of the fondness gamers feel towards this storied title is due to the fact that Oregon Trail was literally the first (and in some cases, the only) video game many children played. Much of its exposure came in classrooms, due to its educational nature.

By the standards of the time in which the 1990 “Classic Edition” was released, much less those of today, there's very little actual substance to Oregon Trail, and many will find it either tiresomely repetitive or only good for a brief jaunt down nostalgia lane.

Gameplay in the older versions of Oregon Trail consists mostly of hunting every day to make the most of your food supply (a minigame where you shoot at a variety of game) and waiting for your party to reach the next landmark.

Later versions, including the 1992 Oregon Trail Deluxe and the 1995 Oregon Trail II offer vast improvements on both graphics and gameplay. In fact, many adults in their 30s today are far more likely to have grown up on either of those than the variants of the Ur Oregon Trail.

Still, this remains an artifact for the curious. While this is a step up from the days of having to type “Bang” and “Pow” to shoot game in the earliest versions, a quick play of Oregon Trail: Classic Edition will show kids (and many adults) how lucky they've had it compared to Generation X, who had to walk to school through snow, uphill both ways, to get to their vidya.

Review By P. Alexander

Captures and Snapshots

Screenshots from MobyGames.com / Platform: Apple II

Screenshots from MobyGames.com

Screenshots from MobyGames.com

Comments and reviews

Drumlion05872021-05-180 point DOS version

Well this certainly brings back memories of elementary school

Dysentery1012021-03-240 point DOS version

This colored one definitely came later... I remember a version with only green pixel dots. The 'squirrels' were hilarious!

Ray2021-02-080 point

What? No screenshot of 'You have died from dysentery'?

HELLO2021-01-071 point DOS version

Responding to gerald.
Unzip the file and open OREGON.EXE with DOSBox

gerald2020-12-030 point

how tf do i run this on dos box idk how computers work

idontknowsomenerdiguess2020-09-17-1 point DOS version

i play it in school i play in house i play it in bathroom i play it in shower i play it in coffin

Kevin B2020-06-080 point DOS version

If your trying to run this game on a Windows 10 PC, you will need DOSbox to run it as it won't run normally in this version of Windows.

Morbid_Decay2020-05-140 point DOS version

This is my first time playing it. it's sooooooooo good!

vicsar2020-05-093 points DOS version

I had never played the original, only the deluxe version. This is fun :-)

moonbug2019-03-143 points

Bear Vs. Salmon, you can convert one of the mainframe versions, they're pretty small and entirely in BASIC. Otherwise this is almost identical: http://www.atariarchives.org/bca/Chapter02_WestwardHo.php

the only one still using win xp2019-02-23-2 points DOS version

why does it skip when on the trail unless something happens i'm playing on windows xp

Belreyne2019-02-041 point

I remember playing the Classic Oregon Trail on IBM Networking computers as a kid.... That and Primary Editor Plus, Where in the World/USA is Carmen Sandiego, and other 'Educational' classics... Talk about Nostalgia....

OTV12019-01-03-3 points Apple II version

I am looking for a copy of the original version of Oregon trail on 51/4 floppy disk for apple ll

Off topic2018-04-173 points

It's a shame. 'Pg' is using an online platform (likely with a decent device) to ban a generation about their access to technology.
I am a millennial. I remember playing in school. That's why I am on this page in the first place. Just kind of food for thought to those predisposed do decide others morals based on age. At least last millennials are discriminatory by a LARGE margin. But that's numbers not opinion.
I'm glad to see this on here so I can reminisce the days when nothing could go wrong.

Moon2018-03-310 point

this game is awesome even though i just finished it yesterday lol

dfortae2018-01-12-3 points DOS version

I review The Oregon Trail here: http://youtu.be/KHXThZGUWrw

Ted2017-10-271 point Mac version

It works under SheepShaver running 9.04.

Retro Never Goes Out Of Style2017-07-230 point

Works just fine in M.E.S.S. on Ubuntu.

PG2017-06-27-11 points Apple II version

I remember playing this game back in 1990 while I was in the sixth grade. I used to love going to the computer lab with my class each week, just so we could play The Oregon Trail on those Old School Apple computers. Each of us were so enthralled by the game, it was the only time that an instructor didn't have to tell us to be quiet. Kids today (Millenials) will never understand how fun and educational The Oregon Trail was for our generation. Sadly, the main reasons they use computers is to connect on Social Media (which has led to Cyber Bullying),
Hacking/Stealing personal information, and other nonsense. Only Xennials can comprehend how Awesome this game is, was and always will be! We grew up during a time when life was simple, and technology had not overstepped it's boundaries by consuming the entire world, and turning everyone into illiterate zombies that can't function without an Iphone in their hand.

Bear Vs. Salmon2017-04-219 points Apple II version

It won't run on my TI-83! Halp.

Deegshardie2017-03-13-4 points

I can't play it on my iPad

Paperbrain2017-03-104 points

Every public school in America had a copy of this back in the day, even the tiny school in rural Idaho I grew up in. Many younger people might find it boring, and wonder what we see in it. In all honesty, with the nostalgia glasses off it might not seem like much, but dagnabit yunguns it was fun!

RandomStranger2017-01-131 point Mac version

I cant play it on my mac :(

Warrior_4_Christ2016-12-28-1 point DOS version

Best Game Ever!!!

Luna Moonrider2016-12-054 points

Need to make one for tablets! I hate the settler game. Want the real game on tablet! So does everybody else. Everybody's asking for it.

TC2016-10-31-2 points Mac version

Will it run on OS X 10.12?

frustrated2016-10-24-3 points Mac version

won't work on my Mac :(

Bubba2016-10-17-2 points DOS version

I can't play the game on my browser

cameron pendergraft2016-04-12-13 points

this game sucks its mostly history:O(

NLE2016-02-081 point

loving this game

blondiebear2015-09-13-7 points Mac version

How do you set it up for macbook?

RetroGamer2015-07-102 points Mac version

wow. i love this game and havent played in years! i recently installed mini vmac-- here goes gaming:)

confused2015-05-30-3 points Mac version

Can you play this without downloading?

abi2015-04-221 point DOS version

amazing loved it

Lord_Xarti2015-04-09-4 points DOS version

Why are you all using JUST DOSbox? Use the far superior LaunchBox *(Which includes DOSbox and many more emulators) that does a lot of this behind the scenes work for you? I got the newest version *(4.6 as of this typing) and it works like a dream for me.

Chauncey2015-01-14-1 point Mac version

I wanna play this so badly but my PC is messed up.

Boat2014-11-150 point Mac version

This better have the peperony and chease epigraph...

Me, Myself, and I2014-11-040 point Mac version

If only they had had Viagra. :o(

Simba72014-10-211 point DOS version

Windows 7? You'll need DOSBox to run any DOS-based games on Windows 7. That, or find an old 286/386.

paulo josé2014-09-10-2 points DOS version

this game relate the live the people to living in contry the oregon .
this good for learn the history the civilizacion.

James2014-08-300 point Mac version

nice screenshot!

Steven2014-08-180 point DOS version

does not run on windows 7

Kronick2014-07-271 point DOS version

WoW !!! I was in 6th/7th grade when this game came out been looking for a few yrs for a copy. Always loved coming upon a river and deciding how to handle it. A lot of times would forge the rivers but not always the wise way to go. Current would usually tip you over and cost you supplies. LOL Oh well....

rss2014-03-220 point DOS version

old time goodness

GoodOleDays2013-11-103 points DOS version

Long live the days of surviving and dying from dysentery...

Raminess2012-10-064 points DOS version

We've ALL died of dysentery! :(

rmn2011-12-163 points DOS version

how many died of dysentery? ^^

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Oregon Trail Game Free Mecc

DOS Version

Mac Version

• Year:1993
• Publisher:MECC
• Developer:MECC

Windows 3.x Version

• Year:1993
• Publisher:MECC
• Developer:MECC

Apple II Version

• Year:1985
• Publisher:MECC
• Developer:MECC

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The Oregon Trail is a series of educational computer games. The first game was originally developed by Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger in 1971 and produced by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) in 1974. The original game was designed to teach 8th grade school children about the realities of 19th-century pioneer life on the Oregon Trail. The player assumes the role of a wagon leader guiding a party of settlers from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon's Willamette Valley via a covered wagon in 1848.

History[edit]

In 1971, Don Rawitsch, a senior at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, taught an 8th grade history class as a student teacher.^[1][2] He used HP Time-Shared BASIC running on a HP 2100 minicomputer to write a computer program to help teach the subject.^[3] Rawitsch recruited two friends and fellow student teachers, Paul Dillenberger and Bill Heinemann, to help.^[4]

These are the original core gameplay concepts which have endured in every subsequent version: initial supply purchase; occasional food hunting; occasional supply purchase at forts; inventory management of supplies; variable travel speed depending upon conditions; frequent misfortunes; and game over upon death or successfully reaching Oregon.^[5]

The game that would be later named The Oregon Trail debuted to Rawitsch's class on December 3, 1971. Although the minicomputer's teletype and paper tape terminals that predate display screens were awkward to children, the game was immediately popular, and he made it available to users of the minicomputer time-sharing network owned by Minneapolis Public Schools. When the next semester ended, Rawitsch printed out a copy of the source code and deleted it from the minicomputer.^[5][4]

MECC[edit]

In 1974, the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC), a state-funded organization that developed educational software for the classroom, hired Rawitsch. He uploaded the Oregon Trail game into the organization's time-sharing network by retyping it, copied from a printout of the 1971 BASIC code. Then he modified the frequency and details of the random events that occurred in the game, to more accurately reflect the accounts he had read in the historical diaries of people who had traveled the trail. In 1975, when his updates were finished, he made the game titled OREGON available to all the schools on the timeshare network. The game became one of the network's most popular programs, with thousands of players monthly.^[5][4][6]

Rawitsch published the source code of The Oregon Trail, written in BASIC 3.1 for the CDC Cyber 70/73-26, in Creative Computing's May–June 1978 issue.^[7] That year MECC began encouraging schools to adopt the Apple II microcomputer.^[4] John Cook adapted the game for the Apple II, and it appeared on A.P.P.L.E.'s PDS Disk series No. 108. A further version called Oregon Trail 2 was adapted in June 1978 by J.P. O'Malley. The game was further released as part of MECC's Elementary series, on Elementary Volume 6 in 1980. The game was titled simply Oregon, and featured minimal graphics. It proved so popular that it was re-released as a standalone game, with substantially improved graphics, in 1985. The new version was also updated to more accurately reflect the real Oregon Trail, incorporating notable geographic landmarks as well as human characters with whom the player can interact.^[8]

By 1995, The Oregon Trail comprised about one-third of MECC's $30 million in annual revenue.^[9] An updated version, Oregon Trail Deluxe, was released for DOS and Macintosh in 1992, as well as Windows in 1993 (under the title of simply The Oregon Trail Version 1.2)^[10] followed by Oregon Trail II in 1995,^[4]The Oregon Trail 3rd Edition in 1997,^[11] and 4th^[12] and 5th editions.^[13] As of 2011, more than 65 million copies of The Oregon Trail have been sold.^[4]

Editions[edit]

Various games in the series were released with inconsistent titles.

Legacy[edit]

The game was popular among American elementary school students from the mid-1980s to mid-2000s, as many computers came bundled with the game.^{[citation needed]} MECC followed up on the success of The Oregon Trail with similar titles such as The Yukon Trail and The Amazon Trail.^[17]David H. Ahl published Westward Ho!, set on the Oregon Trail in 1848, as a type-in game in 1986.^[18]

The phrase 'You have died of dysentery' has been popularized on T-shirts^[4] and other promotional merchandise. Another popular phrase from the game is 'Here lies andy; peperony and chease,' which is a player-generated epitaph featured on an in-game tombstone saved to a frequently bootlegged copy of the game disk,^[19] and likely a direct reference to a popular Tombstone pizza television commercial from the 1990s.

The game resurfaced in 2008 when Gameloft created an updated version for cell phones.^[20][21][4] A new release for the iPhone and iPod Touch is also available from Gameloft.^[22] The game went live in the iTunes App Store on March 11, 2009.^[23] On January 7, 2010, the Palm webOS version was released to the Palm App Catalog. On November 11, 2010, an Xbox Live version was released on Windows Phone 7.

The cell phone version of the game is similar to the original, but varies in that the player can choose one of three different wagons: A basic wagon, a prairie schooner or a Conestoga wagon. The player can also choose to become a banker, a carpenter, or a farmer, each of which has unique benefits. Unlike the computer version of the game, players in the iPhone and iPod Touch version do not need to buy guns and bullets. The game has received a major update, which had the player using trading and crafting to upgrade their wagon, buy food, and cure ailments.

In 2011 the 1975 and 1978 BASICsource code versions of the game were reconstructed.^[24]

On February 2, 2011, a new version of the game was released on the social networking site Facebook.^[25] This version was removed from Facebook when Blue Fang Games closed.^[26] A new version of the game was also released for the Wii and 3DS that year, and received a negative critical response.^[27]

In 2012, a parody called Organ Trail was released by the Men Who Wear Many Hats for browsers, iOS, and Android, with the setting changed to human survivors fleeing a zombie apocalypse.^[28]

In 2012, the Willamette Heritage Center (WHC) and the Statesman Journal newspaper in Salem, Oregon created Oregon Trail Live as a live-action event.^[29] Teams competed through ten challenges on the grounds of the WHC. Challenges were based loosely on the game: hunting for game was done by shooting Nerf guns at college students wearing wigs and cloth antlers, while carrying 200 pounds of meat became pulling a 200-pound man up a hill in a child's red wagon while he recited historical meat facts and pointed out choice cuts. Independence, Missouri was at one end of the grounds, and the Willamette Valley was at the other end. The WHC received the 2014 Outstanding Educator Award from the Oregon-California Trails Association for this event.

In 2013, a dark comedy entitled Oregon Trail: The Play! received its first professional production by New Orleans-based theatre company The NOLA Project, and was subsequently published in 2016 by Alligator Pear Publishing, LLC. The play closely parodies the game, following a westward-headed family as they stock up on provisions for their oxen-led wagons and do their best to survive river crossings, illnesses, hunting, highway robbery, and a host of other mid-nineteenth century dilemmas. Audience members are asked to help provide food for the family in a mid-play Nerf shooting gallery.

In 2014, a parody musical called The Trail to Oregon! was made by the musical theater company StarKid Productions, with several references being made towards the game.^[30]

In 2015, a 5k fun run held in Oregon City (the end of the route of the Oregon Trail) was modeled after the game with choice points along the route.^[31]

In 2016, the game was parodied in an episode of Teen Titans Go! entitled 'Oregon Trail' (Season 3, Episode 48).^{[citation needed]}

Also in 2016, Pressman Toy Corporation released The Oregon Trailcard game based on the video game.^[32]

The game was referenced on the May 15, 2020 edition of WWE Smackdown. On that episode Otis told both John Morrison and The Miz that his usual tag team partner Tucker couldn't make it to the tag team match that night, 'because he got dysentery on The Oregon Trail.'^[33][34]

Oregon Trail Game Free Fourth Grade

References[edit]

1. ^Lipinski, Jed (July 29, 2013). 'The Legend of The Oregon Trail'. mental_floss. Archived from the original on July 31, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
2. ^Shea, Jeremy (February 24, 2014). 'An Interview With the Teacher-Turned-Developer Behind 'Oregon Trail''. Yester: Then For Now. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
3. ^Veeneman, Dan. 'Hewlett-Packard HP 2000 Time Shared BASIC'. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
4. ^ ^abcdefghLussenhop, Jessica (January 19, 2011). 'Oregon Trail: How three Minnesotans forged its path'. City Pages. Archived from the original on January 23, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
5. ^ ^abcBouchard, R. Philip (June 29, 2017). 'How I Managed to Design the Most Successful Educational Computer Game of All Time'. The Philipendium. Medium. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
6. ^Grosvenor, Emily (September 25, 2014). 'Going West: The World of Live Action, Competitive Oregon Trail'. The Atlantic. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
7. ^Rawitsch, Dan (May–June 1978). 'Oregon Trail'. Creative Computing. pp. 132–139. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
8. ^'You Have Died of Dysentery: Exploring The Oregon Trail's Design History'. format.com. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
9. ^Interview with Dale Lafrenz. Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (accessed July 1, 2012)
10. ^Oregon Trail GameArchived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
11. ^The Oregon Trail: 3rd Edition for Windows (1997) – MobyGames
12. ^Amazon.com: Oregon Trail 4th Edition: Software
13. ^Amazon.com: The Oregon Trail, 5th Edition: Software
14. ^'Gameloft primes five HD games for Windows Phone 7 US launch'. pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
15. ^'The Oregon Trail Card Game'. pressmantoy.com. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
16. ^'The Oregon Trail: Journey to Willamette Valley'. pressmantoy.com. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
17. ^Coventry, Joshua. 'Educational computing for the masses'. SiliconUser. Archived from the original on June 28, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
18. ^Ahl, David H. (1986). 'Westward Ho!'. David H. Ahl's BASIC Computer Adventures. Microsoft Press. ISBN0-914845-92-6.
19. ^Stacy Conradt (May 11, 2009). 'The Quick 10: The Oregon Trail Computer Game'. Mental floss. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
20. ^Ericson, Tracy. 'The Oregon Trail: Contracting dysentery has never been so much fun'. PocketGamer. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
21. ^Beidler, Aurae (January 31, 2008), Facebook Oregon Trail Application: Social Networking Website's Version of the Original Educational Game, Suite 101
22. ^Buchanan, Levi (February 25, 2009). 'Oregon Trail iPhone Hands-On'. IGN. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
23. ^Alaburda, Bob (March 11, 2009). 'The Oregon Trail Out Now-On'. ThePortableGamer. Archived from the original on March 14, 2009. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
24. ^On the Trail of the Oregon Trail by Jimmy Maher on filfre.net (source code: oregon1975.bas and oregon1978.bas, March 27, 2011)
25. ^Jackson, A. Diallo (January 28, 2011). 'Classic games coming to Facebook'. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
26. ^Osborne, Joe (December 19, 2011). 'Carmen Sandiego, Oregon Trail on Facebook will be no more next year'. games.com news. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
27. ^'Oregon Trail Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
28. ^'Organ Trail'. hasproductions. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
29. ^'Oregon Trail Live'. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
30. ^'The Trail To Oregon!'.
31. ^'The Oregon Trail Game 5K'. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015.
32. ^Krol, Jacob (July 29, 2016). 'The Oregon Trail is back, but this time it's a card game'. CNET. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
33. ^https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0857332/movieconnections?ref_=tt_ql_trv_6
34. ^https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12126764/movieconnections?ref_=tt_ql_trv_6

Oregon Trail Game Free Online No Download

External links[edit]

• The Oregon Trail series at MobyGames
• The Oregon Trail 1990 DOS edition at the Internet Archive

Oregon Trail Game Free Online Play