The Oregon Trail

Experience the trails and tribulation of the road to Oregon.

Short description

In The Oregon Trail you play as a settler trying to survive the oregon trail. Learn about real places and people, discover historical facts and trail trivia.

Educational Value

• History – American history.
• Representation – in the new version of The Oregon Train the creators were determined to better depict Native American perspectives. For Indigenous Peoples, westward expansion was not an adventure but an invasion. Recognizing this complex history, the developers collaborated with Native American scholars to bring a new level of respectful representation to the game. For the first time, the game features Native American playable characters and stories, celebrating the history and cultures of the Peoples who first lived on this land and still live here today. (Source: https://theoregontrail-game.com)
• Ecology – when you tap on the flora and fauna in the game, you get more information about this topic.
• Strategy, planning, logical thinking – during the game you overcome hundreds of random events where each choice you make affects your party and future events.

Recommendation for use

The game helps to learn about American history, but the game itself is also an interesting object for further discussion. The first version of The Oregon Trail dates from 1974. The original game was designed to teach about the realities of 19th-century pioneer life. In the 2021 version of the game the developers attempt to better depict Native American perspective.

When you would like to dive deeper in the history of the game itself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oregon_Trail_(series).

Image: https://theoregontrail-game.com/