I’d be willing to bet that 95% of elementary school students in the ’80s and ’90s played some version of the Oregon Trail. I have a copy on my iPad that pales in comparison to the version made for the Apple IIe or IIgs (I don’t remember. It was a looooong time ago.) I can still remember being disappointed when no deer or buffalo appeared while hunting and I lost a day for nothing. Or even worse, someone died from dysentery, or I hit a rock in the Columbia River (that was always the best way to finish). Think back to the good ol’ days while you read about the origins of this great game.

Think back to your first interactions with a computer. What were you doing? Probably not browsing the Internet, writing emails, or even typing in a word document. For many kids, video games and educational software came first, and that holds true as far back as the 1970s…continue reading