- Relive your fond memories of one of the world’s most beloved computer games as you race your friends to victory in “The Oregon Trail: Journey to Willamette Valley.” For 2-4 players, ages 14 and up.
- Oregon Trail Rules Updates: 1. The first time that players make a stack of five trail cards, the player who played the fifth card chooses whether to put the first card played or the fifth card played on top of the stack. From then on, players always place the first card played on top of the stack (so the trail connects).
The Oregon Trail Game was developed back in 1971 by Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberg. Three years after, Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium also known as MECC, produced the game.
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. Oct 04, 2018 Will and Sara review the new Oregon Trail board game from Pressman. It harkens back to the classic video game full of broken wagon wheels, hunting, and dysentery. Will your family survive the Oregon trail?
Originally, it was designed to teach children about the real-life situations of people in the 19th century. The goal must be to take a group of people from Independence, Missouri, to another place called Oregon.
Oregon Trail was a big hit and almost became one of the best selling video games back then. It was played by school kids from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s.
Gameplay
There are several basic things that you need to know about this game. The Oregon Trail consists of three parts:
- Beginning(The Departure). This is when the player needs to choose the character and name of the leader, as well as his/her companions, prior to leaving Independence, Missouri.
- Middle(The Journey). This is the journey and the leader is expected to face obstacles along the way.
- End(The Arrival). It is the moment of reaching Oregon where a player can review all the points acquired on the journey.
Departure to Independence, Missouri
Independence, Missouri is the starting point of the trail. To start the game, a player needs to choose what kind of person a leader would be while traveling to Oregon. There are four people who can accompany the leader on the journey. The player will name them according to his preference.
Once the leader and company have been decided, the leader needs to decide the month of departure. He can choose between March to July. There is also an option to ask for a piece of advice.
For the time the travelers are about to leave the Independence, they have the available fund of $1,600. The money can be used to purchase items like foods, clothing, animals, ammunition, and spare parts which are sold in Matt’s General Store in Missouri.
After buying the items, the leader together with his party members is ready to leave. This will be the start of trials and challenges along the way.
The Trail
During the course of the Oregon trail game, travelers will face many obstacles. They will be reminded of the available supplies, the current weather, and the health condition of the leader. The leader has the choice to continue the trail, check supplies, and rest. There is also an option to see how many miles they will need to travel and the places they will need to cross.
While traveling, valuable items can be found. Now and then, the game will show the status of the weather and the remaining resources. So, better watch these things to successfully reach Oregon.
One of the most important aspects of the game is hunting for food. The leader is given the rifle to hunt animals and add to resources. The travelers are also provided with a map to have an overview of where they are headed.
Arrival to Oregon
At the end of the game, points are awarded according to the chosen profession of the leader, number and health of surviving parties, cash on hand, and remaining resources. If the player chose carpenter, the points will be doubled. If the farmer is selected, the acquired points will be tripled.
Obstacles of Oregon Trail
There are many obstacles the leader and his parties may face while traveling to Oregon. These problems may arise at some point and can be a factor in accomplishing the journey.
- Wrong direction or trail
- Illness/sickness of the leader’s company or the party
- Stolen supplies along the way
- Snakebite
- Death of one of the parties
- Severe thunderstorm
- Heavy Fog
Game Controls of the Oregon Trail Game
- Click the Start button using your mouse and wait for the game to load all the necessary data to start.
- Once started, use your computer’s keyboard to complete the game.
- Press Alt+Enter to switch and exit to full-screen mode.
- Click “Y” for Yes, “N” for No, and number keys to select from the options.
- Press Enter/space bar to continue the trail.
In Conclusion
Did you play Oregon Trail? How was your experience so far? Please let us know in the comment section below if you found this game fun and exciting.
If in case you need help, or you have questions, do let us know and we’ll get back to you.
My kids are currently learning about the country's Westward Expansion through their school history lessons, so were excited when I brought out THE OREGON TRAIL GAME for us to play. When I was their age it was a big deal at school to be able to play The Oregon Trail video game on our classroom's Apple Macintosh computer which was considered a 'high tech' educational resource at the time. Who else remembers playing the video game at school as an '80s kid? Pressman's tabletop adaption puts that classic video game to shame and is very fun to play.Just like in the original video game, THE OREGON TRAIL GAME has players taking on the role of 19th Century pioneers making their way from Independence, Missouri to settle America's West Coast. Your goal is to complete this perilous journey while keeping your family healthy and having as much money as possible in your pocket. Hunt wildlife and gather supplies to keep your family alive during the trek. You may even be able to pick up a hitchhiker to make some extra money along the way. Beware though because if a family member dies not only will you be grieving but their funeral cuts into your total fortune that determines who wins the game.
Start off your adventure by loading your ox pulled wagon. Four blocks placed within the wagon represent your family. Each block starts off showing 5 health points. If a family member's health gets down to 0 health points a number is replaced with a tombstone. If your whole family is showing tombstones at anytime during the game you automatically lose. So make sure you keep everyone healthy!
Oregon Trail Board Game Reviews
The wagon also holds supplies. Players start off with $300 dollars, 2 barrels of meat, and a pistol. You can buy or sell food and supplies by visiting forts and towns along your route. Your path is determined by blind-drawing tiles that represent the landscape being traveled through. These tiles include forts, towns, rivers, wilderness and winter landscapes that have different benefits and consequences.For example if a player doesn't have winter clothes stocked in their wagon than each family member loses one point of heath and any hitchhikers DIE immediately if a wagon lands on a snowy tile. On the other hand, winter clothes take up limited room for supplies onboard your wagon and having them with you might mean there isn't room for other things like spare parts to fix a broken wheel or medicine to heal a sick family member. There is a strategic element to stocking your wagon that has risks and rewards during gameplay.
Running low on food? Go hunting when your wagon is in a wilderness tile. Another player draws a hunting card and keeps it information a mystery. For each pistol owned one guess can be marked on the numbers on the target chart of a wagon card. If a shotgun is owned its marker can be placed on the targets on the wagon card counting as a guess for both numbers on either side of the target providing twice the odds of matching the number on the hunting card. Players who don't guess the right number miss their prey.
Guess right though and you hit the animal which is then identified by the opposing player holding the hunting card. It could be as small as a squirrel or as large as a bison. There are six different type of animals to be hunted and each provides a different amount of food that can be added to your provisions. You have to feed your family with a block of food each turn to avoid losing health points so it is important to be well stocked during the journey.
Oh yeah here is a helpful hunting tip. If you purchase a compass at a town or fort it can be discarded to let you see the front of a hunting card before laying down your pistol and shotgun markers on the wagon card. So you are guaranteed to hit your target during that turn when hunting. That can be a life or death turn of events if your food is running low while traveling along the Oregon Trail.
Hunting and gathering supplies aren't the only challenges of traversing the Oregon Trail. Rivers can be a dangerous obstacle. When players have one blocking their paths, they must either skip a turn to cross it or roll a die to determine if they achieved safe passage across. There is a number on each river tile. A player must roll that number or higher or else they drown while attempting to cross. Is it worth the odds for a quick crossing?
Beware because there is danger in every turn when playing The Oregon Trail Game. At the start of each player's turn they must pull a card from the Calamity deck. A card may announce the path is blocked by bad weather, your wagon may have become damaged, or a family member has died from dehydration. Fortunately, most calamity cards provide a way for someone to avoid a negative fate by achieving a specified result during that current turn. For example, reaching a landscape tile with a river on it negates the calamity of someone dying from dehydration.
Avoid calamities while traveling from Independence, Missouri to Oregon's Willamette Valley. We had a fun family game night competing against one another to see who could make their fortune as a pioneer. So this dad blogger is giving THE OREGON TRAIL GAME a Geek Daddy nod of approval in this board game review. It was nice that playing the game got my kids thinking about their history lessons while they were having a good time. I always appreciate it when an experience can combine entertaining and educating my kids at the same time!
THE OREGON TRAIL GAME by Pressman is for 2 to 4 players. It is recommended for ages 14 and up though my eleven year old twins were able to play the game with minimum difficulty. For more information go to pressmantoy.com