Tips and Tricks to Beating The Oregon Trail 1990

Everyone is aware of the popular 1990s PC game, The Oregon Trail. It's an educational strategy game, originally made for PC in 1985. It shows the historical journey of the pioneers traveling on the Oregon Trail.

History

The first version of Oregon Trail was created in 1971 by Don Rawitsch, who then invited two of his friends to help him complete the game for his class of eighth graders. The game was not perfect when it the target audience of players first played it, but it still managed to become popular quickly.

Gameplay

The players of the Oregon Trail have to guide their wagon, protecting themselves from all the dangers. Everything has to be planned because flooding becomes a concern if a player leaves early. Similarly, if players leave late, the wagon could end up snowbounding before reaching the destination.

Throughout the game, players get an opportunity to learn about Oregon Trail landmarks, stops, and history.

Tips and Tricks

How to Survive

The game lets the player choose between three occupations, i.e., banker, carpenter, and farmer. These profession profiles offer different bonus points and starting money.

Farmer offers an option to earn maximum points because, in the end, the score gets tripled. Similarly, the carpenter's points are doubled, but the banker's points do not any point multipliers.

The Best Occupation in the Game

The best occupation in the game depends on what your requirements are. The banker is rich, which makes it a good option for beginners. On the other hand, the farmer is the hardest profile to play with, since it barely has any funds, but it triples the points in the end.

Most players find the carpenter profile is to be the best because the difficulty level is moderate. Also, the point doubles when the game is finished.

What Food to Buy

Most players in the game find it hard to ration food. Along with spending money on food, they kill small animals, waste money and bullets, and still, the characters remain hungry.

So, when food availability lowers, players should stop and hunt. However, they must not shoot small animals and waste bullets. The body needs two deer or one bear to hit the 100lb limit for a day. Skilled players can kill two deer or a bear with just 1-2 bullets.

What Supplies to Buy

Your profession decides the number of food players can purchase. For instance, bankers can purchase more items and have a better start. They can purchase 3 of each spare part, 9 yokes or 18 oxen, 20 sets of clothes, and 2000 pounds of food.

But if you are a farmer with a limited budget, you can only purchase essential and limited supplies. You can purchase 3 yokes or 6 oxen, 2 of each spare part, 15 sets of clothes, and 20 boxes of bullets.

The number of bullets you carry on the trail depends on you.

How to Score Most Points on Oregon Trail

Here's how you can score the most points in the game.

Month

Players can choose between five months to start their Oregon Trail trip, i.e., from March to July. The catch is that if players choose an early month, the oxen don't get much grass to eat. Similarly, leaving too late means players would have to face harsh cold.

The trick is to select the right month so the animals get enough grass and you don't die in the harsh cold. But inadequate grass is not a major issue compared to the cold climate. So, you can either decide to leave in the middle of the five months or during March.

Look Around at Landmarks

After traveling through multiple landmarks on the trail, you are given an option to look around. By saying yes to this option, you get sufficient time to rest. Also, you get pixel art of the landmark. You can also utilize the time to trade materials, talk with people, and shop.

Mode of Transport

Players must choose the wagon and animals wisely because it increases their chances of winning. A common gameplay strategy is choosing the smallest wagon and buying all the horses. The best wagon to start with is arguably the Prairie Schooner.

The wheels of the wagon are also an important consideration. That's because bigger wheels can easily roll through soft obstacles, and wide wheels do not sink in the soft terrain.

Players should try to get maximum horses to decrease the wagon stopping when a horse dies. It will also not strain the player much and make traveling easier.

Conclusion

Oregon Trail is a fun game that shows the challenges and struggles of the real Oregon Trail. You can easily survive this game by following the tips and tricks mentioned in this post.