Oregon Trail II facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Oregon Trail II
CD Cover art
Developer(s)	MECC
Publisher(s)	SoftKey Multimedia
Platform(s)	Mac OS 7.1, Microsoft Windows 3.1, Microsoft Windows 95
Release date(s)	February 13, 1995
Genre(s)	Educational
Mode(s)	Single player

Oregon Trail II is an exciting educational video game that came out in 1995. It was made by a company called MECC and published by SoftKey Multimedia. This game is a new and improved version of the classic The Oregon Trail game.

A history expert named Wayne Studer helped redesign the game. They made sure to include more important roles for women and different racial groups in this version. There was even a special 25th Anniversary Limited Edition of Oregon Trail II. It came with a strategy guide and a special wooden box!

Playing the Game: Your Journey Begins!

When you start a new game in Oregon Trail II, you get to make many choices. You can pick your name, what job you have, and how hard the game will be. You also choose when you want to travel (between 1840 and 1860) and where you start and want to end up.

You can decide how many people travel with you in your wagon. You even get to name them and choose their ages! After picking your job, you can select different skills. You have a certain number of points to spend on skills. Some skills are free, but more important ones cost more points.

Having good skills helps you in the game. They make good things more likely to happen and bad things less likely. Some jobs give you more money at the start. But jobs with less money get a bigger bonus at the end of the game. This bonus is important for getting a high score! Just remember, you only get the bonus if you reach your chosen destination.

More Details and Choices

Oregon Trail II has much more detail than the first game. For example, floating down the Columbia River on a raft is a bigger challenge now. When something happens, like an accident or someone gets sick, the game stops. You then have to choose what to do next. This makes the game much more interactive!

You can also talk to other settlers you meet along the way. They might give you helpful advice. If your character dies at any point, the game is over. This version lets you choose to travel in any year from 1840 to 1860. Traveling in later years is often easier. This is because there are more towns and trading posts where you can buy supplies.

Getting Your Supplies Ready

Getting your wagon ready with supplies is a big part of the game. The more supplies you have, the heavier your wagon becomes. If your wagon gets too heavy, you can't move! You will have to throw some things away.

The game offers a huge selection of supplies to buy. At the beginning, you can even buy "package deals" with up to six months of food and items. But be careful! Many dangers in the game can cause you to lose supplies. You might also need to trade items with others.

You can choose to take a package deal from the town's merchants. Or, you can shop around yourself and pick out exactly what you want. Sometimes, special items like chains or anvils are only available in packages or through trading. However, you can often buy these from merchants or blacksmiths further down the trail.

The Oregon Trail 5th Edition: A New Adventure

The Oregon Trail 5th Edition: Adventures Along the Oregon Trail is a video game released in 2001. It is a follow-up to The Oregon Trail 4th Edition.

Gameplay in 5th Edition

This game is based on Oregon Trail II, but it adds some cool new features. You can now gather plants, just like in editions 3 and 4. This means you have to figure out which plants are safe to eat and which are poisonous. You can also go fishing to get food!

The game also has updated graphics for river crossings. Plus, there are new story scenes that follow three fictional children: Parker, Cassie, and Jimmy. They travel with an African-American trailblazer named Captain Jed Freedman. They are trying to find their father in Oregon.

As you reach certain places on the trail, parts of their story are revealed. These stories can be dangerous, like Jimmy getting bitten by a snake. Or they can be campfire scenes where Captain Jed tells tales about real historical events. These include stories about the Donner Party, the California Gold Rush, and the Santa Fe Trail.

Images for kids

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  Oregon Trail II gameplay