The Oregon Trail (1971 video game) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids The Oregon Trail
Picture of teleprinter output of the game, featuring a single round of gameplay
Developer(s)	Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger
Publisher(s)	MECC
Series	The Oregon Trail
Platform(s)	Minicomputer (HP 2100) Mainframe (CDC Cyber 70/73-26) Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64
Release date(s)	Original ^NA December 3, 1971 MECC ^NA 1975
Genre(s)	Strategy
Mode(s)	Single-player

The Oregon Trail is a classic text-based strategy video game. It was created by Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger in 1971. Later, the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) produced it starting in 1975.

This game was made to teach students about what life was like for pioneers in the 1800s. These pioneers traveled along the Oregon Trail. In the game, you lead a group of settlers in a covered wagon. You travel from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon, in the year 1847.

As you play, you must buy supplies and hunt for food. You also make choices about your journey. You will face unexpected events like storms or wagon breakdowns. The first versions of the game had no pictures. They used teleprinters instead of computer screens. Later versions, especially for the Apple II, added graphics.

The first game was made in just two weeks for a history class. Even though it was popular, it was deleted from the school's computer. Don Rawitsch brought the game back in 1974 for MECC. He made it more historically accurate. Over the years, MECC released many versions for different computers. This included the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, and Commodore 64. A fully graphical version came out in 1985.

The Oregon Trail is the first game in a long series. Many games in this series share the same name. Together, these games have sold over 65 million copies. They are now in the World Video Game Hall of Fame. The series also led to other games like The Yukon Trail and The Amazon Trail.

How to Play The Oregon Trail
Creating The Oregon Trail Game
- The First Version (1971)
- The MECC Version (1975)
The Game's Lasting Impact
Images for kids
See also

How to Play The Oregon Trail

A computer terminal called a teleprinter

The Oregon Trail is a text-based strategy video game. You play as the leader of a wagon train. Your goal is to guide a group from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon. The journey takes place in 1847.

First, you buy supplies for your trip. Then, you play through about twelve rounds. Each round represents two weeks on the trail. At the start of each round, you see how far you've traveled and the date. You also see your current supplies. These supplies include food, bullets, clothing, other items, and cash.

You can choose to hunt for food. Sometimes, you can stop at a fort to buy more supplies. You also decide how much food your group will eat. At the end of each round, random events happen. These can be storms that damage supplies or wagons breaking down. You might also face attacks from wild animals. The weather can also change, slowing your travel. This might mean you need more rounds to reach Oregon.

When you hunt or are attacked, the game asks you to type a word. In the first game, it was "BANG." Later versions used words like "BANG" or "POW." If you misspell the word, nothing happens. When hunting, typing the word faster helps you get more food.

The game ends when you reach Oregon. It also ends if you or your group die along the trail. You can die from attacks or running out of supplies. Running out of food causes starvation. Not having enough clothing in cold weather can lead to illness. Other random events, like a snakebite, can also cause sickness. If you don't have supplies for medicine or can't afford a doctor, illness can lead to death.

Creating The Oregon Trail Game

The First Version (1971)

An HP 2100 minicomputer

In 1971, Don Rawitsch was a history student teacher. He taught an 8th-grade history class in Minneapolis. His teacher asked him to plan a lesson on "The Western Expansion." Don decided to create a board game about the Oregon Trail.

While planning, his roommates, Bill Heinemann and Paul Dillenberger, saw his work. They were math students and knew about computer programming. They suggested that a computer program would be better. A computer could track progress and calculate success based on supplies. Don was unsure because he had only two weeks. But Bill and Paul believed they could do it. They spent a weekend designing and coding the game on paper.

The Minneapolis school district had a new HP 2100 minicomputer. Schools connected to it using a single teleprinter. These teleprinters could print messages from programs. Video games were very new in 1971. The three friends had to use their own programming skills. They spent two weeks working in HP Time-Shared BASIC. Don focused on the game's design and history. Bill and Paul did the programming. They worked on the teleprinter at school and at their apartment.

Bill worked on the main program flow. He also thought of the hunting minigame. Paul created smaller parts of the code. He wrote much of the text players would see. He also tested the game for problems. Since there was only one terminal, Bill wrote code on paper. Paul then typed it into the computer.

In those two weeks, they built the game's basics. This included buying supplies and making choices. They also added the hunting minigame. They made random events happen to the player. Bill had the idea to link events to the trail's geography. For example, cold weather was more likely in mountains. Attacks were more likely in the plains. They also added small random changes to outcomes. This made the game interesting to play multiple times.

Before Don's history unit started, students tested the game. They loved it and stayed late to play. Other teachers suggested changes. They asked to remove negative images of Native Americans. These images were based on old movies, not history.

The Oregon Trail first appeared in Don's classes on December 3, 1971. Students were very excited about the game. They would line up to play. Since only one student could use the teleprinter, they played in groups. They voted on choices and assigned roles. Other teachers also found ways for their students to play. The team fixed problems in the code as students played. Soon, schools across the city were playing the game. When the school term ended, the team saved copies of the code. Then, they deleted the program from the computer.

The MECC Version (1975)

In 1974, Don Rawitsch started working for the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC). MECC was a state group that made educational software. MECC had a similar computer system to the schools. It used a CDC Cyber 70/73-26 mainframe computer. Schools across Minnesota could connect to it.

Don's boss said he could add programs to the system. With permission from Bill and Paul, Don spent Thanksgiving weekend in 1974. He copied and changed the game's code for the MECC system. He also improved the game with more historical research. He changed how often random events happened. He made them match the real historical chances for travelers on the Oregon Trail. Don used historical diaries to figure out these chances.

He also added more positive images of Native Americans. His research showed that many settlers received help from them. Don put The Oregon Trail on MECC's network in 1975. This made it available to schools all over Minnesota.

The Game's Lasting Impact

The 1975 mainframe game was very popular in Minnesota schools. Thousands of students played it every month for five years. Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger were not publicly known as the creators until 1995. MECC honored them in a special event.

By then, many versions of the game had been made. Don Rawitsch published the game's code in Creative Computing magazine in 1978. He also shared some of his historical research. That year, MECC started encouraging schools to use the Apple II microcomputer.

MECC began changing their programs to work on microcomputers. John Cook adapted The Oregon Trail for the Apple II. The text-based gameplay stayed mostly the same. But he added a map showing the player's position. He also changed the hunting and attack minigame. Instead of typing, a deer or attacker moved on screen. Players pressed a key to shoot.

A version for Atari 8-bit computers came out in 1982. The Apple II version was part of MECC's Elementary series. It was given free to Minnesota schools and sold elsewhere. A version for the Commodore 64 was released in 1984. By the mid-1980s, The Oregon Trail was MECC's most popular product.

In 1985, MECC made a new, fully graphical version for Apple II computers. R. Philip Bouchard redesigned it. This new The Oregon Trail was a huge success. It and later versions sold over 65 million copies. Many more games have been released in The Oregon Trail series.

The original Oregon Trail is seen as a very important "serious game". This means it's a game made for a purpose beyond just fun. People often talk about all the versions of The Oregon Trail as one big game. It's called a cultural icon and one of the most successful games ever. It's also known as a top example of "edutainment." Because of its wide popularity, The Oregon Trail was put into the World Video Game Hall of Fame in 2016. Time magazine named it one of the 100 greatest video games in 2012.