The Yukon Trail facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Yukon Trail |
|
|---|---|
Cover art
|
|
| Developer(s) | MECC |
| Publisher(s) | MECC |
| Designer(s) | MECC |
| Platform(s) | Windows 3.x, Macintosh |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Genre(s) | Simulation, educational, strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The Yukon Trail is an exciting computer game from 1994. It was made by MECC and is like their famous The Oregon Trail games. This game takes you back to the late 1800s during the Klondike Gold Rush. You start your adventure in Seattle and must make important choices. You'll pick your supplies, find a partner, and plan your journey to Alaska. Then, you'll travel by boat down a river to Dawson City to search for gold. The game even includes the famous writer Jack London and old photos from the 1800s. These photos show you what life was really like back then.
Contents
Journey to the Klondike Gold Rush
The Yukon Trail is a simulation and strategy game. It teaches you about history while you play. You'll face many challenges and learn how to make smart decisions.
Starting Your Adventure
Your journey begins in Seattle in August 1897. This is just before the real Gold Rush started.
- Choose a Partner: First, you pick one of four different partners. Each partner has special skills that can help you.
- Buy Ship Tickets: Next, you need to buy two tickets for a ship. These ships go to Skagway or Dyea. Tickets cost more if the ship leaves right away. They are cheaper if you wait a bit.
- Get Supplies: You can buy equipment, food, and other items in Seattle. Or, you can wait until you get to Alaska. Your partner might give you advice on what to buy. But be careful, their advice isn't always the best!
- Arriving in Alaska: Once you reach Skagway or Dyea, you can buy more supplies. You can also try your luck at card games or gather helpful information. The card games, like War or Shell game, can be tricky. You might lose money. Luckily, you can turn off these games in the settings if you want.
Picking Your Trail Route
When you start your hike, you have two main choices for your path:
- White Pass Trail: This trail is longer but easier to travel.
- Chilkoot Trail: This trail is shorter but much harder.
You can also hire people called "packers" in Skagway or Dyea. They will help carry your heavy supplies along the trail.
Life on the Trail
The Yukon Trail makes you think carefully about every situation. You get many choices, and each choice has different results. This helps you build important problem-solving skills.
- Carrying Your Load: One of your first choices is how much weight you carry yourself.
* If you carry a smaller load, you'll move slower each day. You might have to leave some supplies behind and come back for them. * If you carry a larger load, you might travel faster. But there's a higher chance you or your partner could get hurt.
- Winter Challenges: Traveling becomes much harder when winter arrives. The cold and snow make the trail very difficult.
- Mid-Trail Camp: Halfway along the trail, you and your partner will stop at a camp. Here, you can buy or sell goods.
- Border Crossing: After the camp, you climb a mountain pass to the Canada-US border. Here, you pay a fee to enter the Yukon Territory. The North-West Mounted Police (like today's Royal Canadian Mounted Police) will check your supplies. You need to have 1000 pounds of food for each person to pass. You also pay a tax to bring your goods into Canada. If you don't have enough money for the tax, the Mountie will just take what you have.
Random Events on the Trail
Many unexpected things can happen as you travel:
- Injuries: Someone might get hurt. You decide if you want to keep going slowly or stop to rest.
- Theft: Your food might get stolen.
- Natural Events: You might face rockslides, large crowds of people, or sudden bad weather. You might even find abandoned animals.
Learning About Landmarks
As you travel, you'll stop at famous places. At each landmark, you learn interesting historical facts. Some of these places include:
- The Dead Horse Trail
- The totem poles
- Three dangerous rapids: Miles Canyon, White Horse Rapids, and Five Finger Rapids.
Journey on the River
After hiking into Canada, you and your partner will reach Bennett Lake.
- Meeting Sam Steele: Here, you'll meet the famous Mountie Sam Steele.
- Building a Boat: During the winter, you need to get a whipsaw if you don't have one. Then, you can build one of three types of boats.
- Spring Departure: Once spring arrives and the ice melts, you can start your river journey. Sam Steele might let you leave right away, or he might ask you to wait a few days.
- Boat Choices: Your boat choice affects your speed and how well it handles.
* A dinghy is a balanced choice. * A raft handles well but is slow. * A canoe is fast but hard to steer.
- River Challenges: You'll play mini-games where you guide your boat away from rocks and whirlpools. If your boat gets damaged, you can choose to fix it or build a new one.
Reaching Dawson City
Eventually, you and your partner will arrive at Dawson City.
- Staking a Claim: You'll see a map of gold claims you can choose from.
- Meeting New People: In Dawson City, you'll meet Nellie Cashman and the writer Jack London.
- Searching for Gold: Once you pick a claim, you can start digging for gold!
- Game End: The game ends when winter arrives. Your final score depends on how much money you have, including any gold you found. Most claims give you a small amount of gold. But at least one claim can make you very rich!
Cheechako Hill
One special claim is called Cheechako Hill. This claim is always available. If you choose Cheechako Hill, you will always become rich! In real history, new gold seekers (called "cheechakos") ignored this hill. They thought no gold would be found so high up. But it turned out to have a lot of gold!
