Wow, this is an old one. For those of you who don’t know, Oregon Trail is a DOS game that came out in 1990. My Social Studies teacher last year gave us a link to it and an entire class hour to just play, because it’s historical and all that. Everything is run using typed commands, like numbers, Enter, Y and N. (Yes and No.)
In Oregon Trail, you get to choose a difficulty setting. You can be the banker, with a ton of cash for supplies, the carpenter, with less, or the farmer, with very little. The less cash you’ve got at the start, the more points you get for surviving. You also get to choose what month to leave in. Too early, and it’s too cold at the start, too late and you freeze near the end. Nasty business, weather. You name the 1-5 people in your party. You have to buy your supplies in the shop before you leave (because obviously, you wouldn’t leave without supplies, would you? That would just be dumb), but thankfully, the guy at the shop gives you some guideline suggestions on what to buy.
As you move along the trail, you can adjust your pace and rations while watching your party health and supplies. You can buy supplies at the forts along the way, trade with other travelers, or hunt for food. If the weather gets extreme or someone gets hurt, you can rest for a few days, but don’t lose track of time. You still have to hit Oregon before it gets too cold.
You get to cross rivers, and, near the end, you have to choose paths. There’s also the looming possibility of someone dying. The caravan leader dies last, since that character is “you” and it’s hard to play when you’re dead. I heard that one of my friends played a game with Batman (leader), Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Flash. Aquaman drowned, and Superman, Wonder Woman and the Flash died from exhaustion. How ironic is that?
So basically, cross the country, and don’t die. Simple, and old school, but fun.
