The Oregon Trail

I’ve had my eye on The Oregon Trail app for a little while but was waiting to pull the trigger because of the price. I finally did it and when my 4th grader saw it on my iPhone she got really excited. In fact she went to bed mad at me because I wouldn’t let her play the game late into the evening. Such is life I guess. I remember playing the original version in Elementary School on an early, early Apple computer. It’s gone through quite the transformation over the years and when I played the game today I found it extremely appealing. The graphics in the game are terrific and the game play is smooth. It does take a little bit to load things up but that didn’t bother me much at all. One thing to note, it’s possible to save your game and then start it up again later. However, I don’t see a way to save multiple games. 

The idea behind The Oregon Trail is to take your family on a trek out west, complete with covered wagon and oxen. Along the way you’ll have different paths you can choose – do you pick up the stranger on the side of the road, ford the river or take a ferry, harvest the bison carcass on the side of the road – that sort of thing. You have to keep an eye on the health of your family, your food supply and money. There are games within the game as well that have you shooting critters, catching fish, repairing your wagon and panning for gold. Random things will happen to you, similar to what pioneers experienced on the actual Oregon Trail.

I think this game has a great broad appeal. I enjoyed playing it and my four year old was into it earlier in the day,before I even had a chance to try it out. I had to help him with the reading and explain how to play the mini games but he got the hang of the basics right away. Judging from the look I received when put the kabosh on a game, I’m confident the nine year old will be playing this one often. The Oregon Trail app is easy to play, entertaining and appeals to both myself and my kids which to me makes it well worth the $5.99.

Price when Reviewed: $5.99

Available at iTunes

Seller: Gameloft