Ah yes, The Oregon Trail. Remember how pissed you used to get when your bloody oxen would drown after you decided to ford the river? Even though your classmate told you to add mileage to the trip and just go around the river!? Man, that was frustrating. Originally developed by three Minnesota teachers in 1971, The Oregon Trail’s intended purpose was to help grade school students understand the hardships of the early American settlers in the 19th century. After being bought out and further developed, the game really hit its stride in the mid-80’s and early-90’s when it was adapted to further leverage the technological breakthrough that was “the computer mouse.”
In order to successfully navigate The Trail you had to avoid: broken legs, drowning, measles, snakebites, dysentery, typhoid, cholera, exhaustion, and diarrhea, all while keeping your trail-mates fed and healthy. As we all know, a classic never dies, and updated versions of The Oregon Trail have been released as recently as 2009. Don’t be shy, let us know how good your hunting skills were (we know you were a good shot and never missed a speedy squirrel or mouse) or how much cash you managed to horde while battling The Trail.
BGR Throwback Thursday is a weekly series covering our (and your) favorite gadgets — and in this case software — of yesterday and yesteryear.
