Blog:Playing "The Oregon Trail" on Macintosh For Your Enjoyment

This post is a little different from my others. While I normally go on and post my favorite games or whatever, I was inspired by TyrantRex's Ocarina of Time Log to create my own log. I'm going to be playing The Oregon Trail in a similar way.

If you don't know what this game is, it was an educational game designed to teach 8th grade children about what it was like to travel to Oregon in the 1800s during the pioneering days. It soon became very popular and had its own release in the computer market. My own teacher a year or two ago showed the game to my class and let us play it. It was super fun and I made it to Oregon on my first playthrough.

Today, I decided to go back on the game and play it again. This is the first time I'm playing it since that day in middle school. The game is pretty short and won't take long to finish. Rather than playing the original version most people know of, I'm going to play the Macintosh version, since it's the one I played in class.

Setting Out
To start with, I have to chose my occupation and the names of the people I'm traveling with. Your occupation will determine different effects that will happen on your trip. Being a doctor will reduce risk of dying from disease. This may be a go to, but I'll chose the banker, as he has the most starting cash. For my crew, I will name them Bob, Larry, Arnold, Sean, and Clark because I can't come up with any original names.

Next, I have to purchase equipment. I'll buy as much food, oxen, and clothes I can carry so I'll be able to get by easily early on. I bought 25 boxes of bullets and 3 each of spare wheels, axles, and tongues. See, in this game, I need a lot of food, as my amount will deplete over time depending on how much I let my travelers eat. Luckily, I bought enough bullets to hunt a lot of game for my group to eat so it works out. You also chose where to start out. You have to make it to Oregon before winter, so of course, I chose March. That gives me a lot of time. Now, I can start my adventure.

The First Leg
I didn't have to much of a good start. For starters, Clark immediately got bitten by a snake before the first day was even over. I then broke an axle and I lost the trail before I got to the first landmark. Hey, this game isn't easy. It's almost kind of like a roguelike a little bit, with random elements that come at you, even though the game's path is still the same. Thankfully, I made it to Fort Kearney and Clark was okay. The forts in the game are landmarks where you can trade for equipment like food and axles. So far, despite a rough start, I'm starting out well.

Land of the Buffalo
In the next stretch of my journey, nothing happened that would have affected my journey badly. I took the opportunity to hunt around for game. Hunting wasn't as easy as I remembered. In the original version, you ran around a small map and shot animals. In the Mac version, hunting is now a Duck Hunt style minigame. Unfortunately, the animals zig-zag around so it's hard to hit them. I wasted much more bullets than I needed, but at least I got free food. I got lots of pounds of buffalo and deer meat to eat. I won't run out of food anytime. I'm already a forth through the game. Just hope I can make it to the next half. This game can be brutal.

A Long Haul
Clark got bitten again and an ox got sick and died. That may not seem so bad, since I got 19 others anyway. And while I was going to get the a landmark, Arnold got sick too. I rested for two days and set my rations to filling and I think it might be enough to prevent death. An interesting part of the game is the guide section. This is probably where most of the "educational" part of the game comes in. It describes information about the landmark I am in. Stuff that I probably will forget.

Before I reached the next landmark, Clark and Arnold became well again and I was able to bring back a lot of food from hunting. I'm almost at the halfway point of the game. After the next landmark, I was asked if I wanted to go to a fort for supplies, or take a shortcut across a river. I took a shortcut, since I would like to get to Oregon as quick as possible. I paid a ferry to go across the river and made it to the next landmark without any problems. The trail to the next fort was also uneventful.

Close To Paradise
The next landmark was the Snake River. The trip there was once again, uneventful. I seem to be getting pretty lucky with my trip. Nobody has died, save for one ox, and I am high on supplies and I haven't even traded or bought anything else. The tables are going to turn on me though. I know this game. It wants me to feel secure, and then one of my characters dies of dysentery.

At the river, I hired an Indian to help me cross the river in exchange for three sets of clothes. I was about the make it to the fort when Arnold got bitten again. The next leg of my journey took me a lot more time than expected. Despite moving at a grueling pace, I made it to an impassable trail and lost a few days of time. Luckily, Arnold got well again and I found some wild fruit before I made it to the next landmark. At the next landmark, I was asked if I want to go to a fort for supplies or take shortcut. I again took the shortcut and make good time.

The Home Stretch
I'm at the last leg of my journey. I safely made it to the last landmark and prepared for the last run to the end. I was then asked if I wanted to raft down to the end of the game, or take a trail. The first time I played this, I took the raft. You have to play a minigame to avoid the rocks as your wagon made it down to the end. I lost two of my group, but made it. I don't want to risk that again and took the path. However, I didn't know that the path had no water or grass for oxen, so some of my group got sick before I made it to Oregon, but I made it and viewed the glorious win screen.

Final Thoughts
In total, the game took me less than an hour to finish. As I finished the game, I remembered how much fun playing it was. Sure, you have to manage your crew and change your pace and rations and hunt to keep everybody feeling well, but something about it makes the game so addicting. It works as an educational game and as something to have fun with. In conclusion, this is a fun game that I think anybody should play. Hope you enjoyed my playthrough of this game.

Where I Played The Game
Since I don't own an original Macintosh computer with this game, I played this on an emulator. You can play this version of the game here: https://jamesfriend.com.au/pce-js/mecc/oregon-trail.html

Gallery
Images of my playthrough of the game.