# Talk:The Oregon Trail (1971 video game)

I have downloaded it before and re-verified the screenshots via the link on the wiki. It is not remotely the same game (American Settlers basically has similar gameplay to Farmville where you accumulate resources and continuously building and producing). Also, as far as I can tell, the developer has no association to the original series. I think citation would be useful if it is in fact officially associated.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.65.177.78 (talk) 04:58, 6 November 2012 (UTC) 
I couldn't agree more.  Using the name 'Oregon Trail' in the title of Oregon Trail: American Settlers is just mis-selling basically.  This has nothing what-so-ever to do with the original, and is basically a name-drop on one of the many Farmville type clones.  Whilst you can't stop people making a game, and naming it based on an unrelated classic, wikipedia shouldn't then associate the game, by linking to is.  
sibaz (talk) 12:32, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

Here:--Coin945 (talk) 09:48, 27 October 2014 (UTC)

Old newspapers
Journal articles
Books
On the Road to Cultural Bias: A critique of "The Oregon Trail" CD-ROM:
The critics all agree: The Oregon Trail is one of the greatest educational computer games ever produced. In 1992, Prides' Guide to Educational Softwareawarded it five stars for being"a wholesome, absorbing historical simulation," and "multi-ethnic," to boot. The newer version, Oregon Trail II,is the "best history simulation we've seen to date," according to a 1994 review by
Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children's Software Review Newsletter.
Polygon:
The Oregon Trail is one of the most successful games of all time, a cultural icon that has given us catch-phrases like, 'You Have Died of Dysentery'. It sold something in the order of 65 million copies and is a treasured school days memory for millions of Americans.
IGN nostalgic review
Quick overview of franchise in Serious Games and Edutainment Applications
The Atlantic
The AV Club

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This article seems to conflate the 1971 game with the 1985 remakes.  Per an article from the lead designer:

Every now and then, I run across an online article that suggests that the 1985 Apple II version of The Oregon Trail was essentially identical to the original 1971 game, except for the addition of color graphics. This assertion is so ridiculously inaccurate that it completely baffles me. https://medium.com/the-philipendium/how-i-managed-to-design-the-most-successful-educational-computer-game-of-all-time-4626ea09e184
While it might make sense to cover them both in one article, there should be a much clearer separation.  Also, the 80s version is frankly far more notable and important, so it should have pride of place most likely.  SnowFire (talk) 21:08, 13 July 2017 (UTC)

I agree.  That would also fix the current problem where the article claims the game was released in 1974, yet was popular due to being bundled with school computers over a decade later without specifying the platform. —Trilkhai (talk) 07:34, 3 October 2017 (UTC)

My memory of this game is hazy, but could it be considered part of the Survival game genre? It seems survival is a major factor in this game. SharkD  Talk  19:04, 31 October 2017 (UTC)

Amazing work @PresN:!! So excited to see The Oregon Trail get its moment in the spotlight on Wikipedia considering its place as the longest running video gaming franchise of all time. :) Here's some useful sources which you may or may not have read already (some info may bleed over to the 1985 version).--Coin945 (talk) 04:29, 31 August 2018 (UTC) 

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/qkx8vw/the-forgotten-history-of-the-oregon-trail-as-told-by-its-creators
https://medium.com/the-philipendium/how-i-managed-to-design-the-most-successful-educational-computer-game-of-all-time-4626ea09e184
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/don-rawitsch-oregon-trail-creator-sacred-scrolls-2017-3?r=US&IR=T
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/10/the-making-of-the-oregon-trail-an-interview-with-d.html
http://www.worldvideogamehalloffame.org/games/oregon-trail
https://www.usgamer.net/articles/the-oral-history-of-oregon-trail
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sethporges/2017/11/27/the-surprising-story-behind-how-the-oregon-trail-was-built-without-access-to-a-computer/#2957bb364f11
http://au.ign.com/articles/2009/03/05/fond-memories-the-oregon-trail

The 1978 Apple 2 version is just the 1971 version with two minor graphical screens. A navigation map which shows the wagon moving on the trail, and a shooting screen that has an animated deer/bandit/wolf. There's an entire generation of people who see the 1985 version and say "that's not what I played in school". Wikipedia doesn't do an adequate job of identifying this unique predecessor. SchmuckyTheCat (talk) 14:07, 18 August 2022 (UTC)

The article does explain the original game was text, while they made a full graphical port in 85. Masem (t) 14:11, 18 August 2022 (UTC)
Already in article: "Rawitsch published the source code of The Oregon Trail in Creative Computing's May–June 1978 issue [...] That year [...] MECC began converting several of their products to run on microcomputers, and John Cook adapted the game for the Apple II; though the text-based gameplay remained largely the same, he added a display of the player's position along the trail on a map between rounds, and replaced the typing in the hunting and attack minigame with a graphical version in which a deer or attacker moves across the screen and the player presses a key to fire at it.[1][14]" --PresN 20:03, 18 August 2022 (UTC)

This review is transcluded from Talk:The Oregon Trail (1971 video game)/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.
Reviewer: Indrian (talk · contribs) 13:58, 6 September 2018 (UTC)
If I don't get to this review in the next week, it probably means I died of dysentary. Indrian (talk) 13:58, 6 September 2018 (UTC)

RIP. Should've stocked up on supplies. Lizard (talk) 02:06, 24 September 2018 (UTC)
Lol.  The good news is I did not get dysentery.  The bad news is a wagon wheel broke and the oxen died, so we lost some time.  I will review this very soon. Indrian (talk) 02:33, 25 September 2018 (UTC)
Clearly you hit a blizzard because you left too late from Missouri. --Izno (talk) 14:58, 1 October 2018 (UTC)
@Indrian: I saw you doing some copyedits; this still on your list? --PresN 16:04, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
It is.  I am deeply embarrassed that I committed to this review so long ago.  It seems every time I prepared to get going on it, something would come up.  I should have it before the end of the week.  If I don't and you want to replace me as reviewer, no hard feelings at all. Indrian (talk) 21:12, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
Wow, so apparently I am still the reviewer of record (would have totally understood if I were not), so lets review this sucker!  (Fun fact: it usually took 4 to 6 months to traverse the trail, so we still got here faster than the time it would have taken us to get to Oregon in the 1840s!)


### Lead
"The multiple games in the series are often considered to be iterations on the same title" - Just a small structure problem here: in the previous sentence you discuss spinoffs like Yukon Trail, and following this with a sentence discussing the "multiple games in the series" implies that Yukon Trail is an iteration rather than a separate title, which I do not believe was the intent.
"The first version of the game was developed over the course of two weeks for use by Rawitsch in a history unit in Bryant Junior High School" - This is incorrect, but it is an understandable mistake due to the inconsistent and confusing reporting in the sources.  As discussed in the City Pages article, Rawitsch was student teaching at a school in north Minneapolis, while Dillenberger and Heinemann were student teaching together at a school in south Minneapolis.  Dillenberger and Heinemann created the game at Bryant according to the same article.  The implication would be that they created it at their school rather than Rawitsch's, and, sure enough, if one looks on Google Maps, the former Bryant Junior High School is south of the center of Minneapolis.  I am unsure where Rawitsch was student teaching, but it was not Bryant.  This problem recurs further along in the article, so be on the lookout.


### Gameplay
"They are given the option to hunt for food" - We have a pronoun-antecedent problem here.  The last subject noun was "supplies" in the previous sentence, so this sentence is basically saying that the supplies are given the option to hunt for food.
"typing the word slowly results in less food being gathered than for fast typing" - Awkward construction: I would instead write something simpler saying that the faster the word is typed, the more food is gathered.
"The game ends when the player reaches Oregon, or if they die along the trail" - This construction implies that the player has one specific avatar within the game that, if they die, ends the game.  My elementary school days are far behind me so I cannot recall myself, but does the game end when the wagon leader dies, or can the rest of the party continue on until everyone is dead?


### Development
"Prior to Rawitsch's history unit starting" - Awkward phrasing, I would go with "prior to the star of Rawitsch's history unit."
"Rawitsch has recounted that, as only one student could use the teleprinter at one time, kept in a small room at Bryant that was formerly a janitor's closet, the students organized themselves into voting for responses and delegating students to handle hunting, following the map, and keeping track of supplies." - Not exactly, the computer room in the janitor's closet was at Bryant, which was where Heinemann and Dillenberger programmed the game.  Rawitsch discusses only having access to a single teletype, but makes no mention of a janitor's closet.
That's it really.  A  few minor mechanics issues and one easily correctable historical inaccuracy.  I think we can wrap this up before we run out of supplies, so I will put this nomination  On hold as these concerns are addressed. Indrian (talk) 21:23, 5 November 2018 (UTC)

@Indrian: Done! To answer your question in gameplay: the concept of a "party" of multiple people was introduced in the 1985 game; I read through the 1975 source code and played it at the internet archive, and the original is just a singular "you", and while you're leading a group (and thus can circle wagons against attacks), "you" dying ends the game. --PresN 16:50, 6 November 2018 (UTC)
@PresN:Congratulations!  You have made it to Oregon! Indrian (talk) 17:50, 6 November 2018 (UTC)

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I've read of and played more at least one more version than the two main versions (excluding spin-offs). For example, at one point I saw a modern mobile (and importantly, licensed) version of the Oregon Trail on Apple Arcade. While it's not super popular, and doesn't have much impact, shouldn't it still be included as another version? (be warned i am incredibly stupid and likely incorrect) Cdominic8 (talk) 02:38, 22 October 2025 (UTC)

Most other versions of the game are listed at The Oregon Trail (series) which include a handful of mobile versions. Masem (t) 03:28, 22 October 2025 (UTC)
Thanks, sorry I didn't notice the series article Cdominic8 (talk) 17:15, 16 November 2025 (UTC)