Oregon Trail II

A computer game that I used to play a lot years ago was Oregon Trail II. I would often play it for a couple of hours at a time, partly for the historical aspect but also because it was just a fun game to play. At first I needed Mum's help to win it, but before long I was able to win on my own, although I did lose a lot of my wagon companions in the process (I did, however, get better to avoid this happening).

From an educational view, from Oregon Trail II I learned about certain lesser-known parts of American history, such as Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and the fate of the Whitman Mission; the trading posts all along the Oregon Trail, the immense size of what used to be the Oregon Country (later called the Oregon Territory), and the various reactions of the American Indians to the settlers. Indeed, not all of those examples was covered in great detail within the game, but the references to them in Oregon Trail II spurred us to research further into them.

With gameplay, Oregon Trail II was not a difficult game to learn at all, despite being rich in its content. It was fun to trade items with other characters within the game, to visit various historical sites, or to treat ill companions and ensure they survived; and finally, the satisfaction of making it to the destination (with one of the destinations, Jacksonville in Southern Oregon, being a place I lived very close to for nearly ten years). The diverse selection of supplies taught one to choose carefully what to bring on the trail, but at the same time it was important to budget accordingly. Finally, a superb soundtrack was composed for Oregon Trail II, with the music changing depending on the circumstances of the health of the travelers.

Fortunately, I am pleased to announce that Oregon Trail II does work on Windows 7, and on XP: except for a couple of minor graphic bugs, for all intents and purposes the game runs perfectly on those operating systems, so if you feel like playing Oregon Trail II again, or want to try it out, you will be able to.