The Story of The Oregon Trail 

Thanks for your patience with this one! I hope it brings back lots of great memories.

This could almost be a Ken Burns documentary. Gaming Historian’s quality never disappoints and is always improving.

I teach 5th grade social studies, and a few weeks ago, I showed my kids the game. I played it for them, and the kids cheered loudly when I shot a buffalo. The kids got hooked on the game. It's amazing a game so old can still get kids in 2024 excited about learning.

When my school got Apple II’s they’d give each class a chunk of time on Fridays to do whatever we wanted on them. There was 25-30 of them in the “computer room” and you’d see Oregon trail on every single one. Thanks for introducing us to the people who made it happen. It’s so cool to learn that the game we loved as kids was created by caring teachers and not soulless software mills.

Massive respect to these educators for creating a game that reached so many lives!

There was never enough time in class to finish the game. One day, my friend and I shut off the monitor, but not the computer. Later that day, we both snuck out of class, went to the computer lab, and finished the game. We could finally say we beat Oregon Trail!

My entire generation owes so much to the trio of Dillenberger, Heinemann, and Bouchard. I only wish this trio got more recognition for their massive contribution. Excellent and inspiring documentary.

"When you're an educator, you're encouraged to write and publish. Paul and Bill and I, when you get right down to it, we were teachers. We have the teacher mentality. And so to get rich off of this would have been nice, but not as important as having donated something to the world of education" -Don Rawitsch This really warmed my heart. My God, if this quote doesn't embody the true altruistic nature and spirit of an educator, I don't know what would. No one would blame these guys if they were bitter or restful for having their original game modified and sold for profit to the extent of making OTHERS rich, but these gentleman are not only magnanimous about that fact but they are just happy that their inspiration was able to teach millions across the world. Isn't that just truly beautiful? THAT, my friends, is a teacher.

There are History Channel docs that don't even come close to the quality that you bring to us. Simply amazing.

I’m about 20 minutes into this, and it’s giving real “teacher comes rolling into class with the TV and VCR” vibes. And I love it.

These guys, Paul Dillenberger , and Bill Heinemann are a true American heroes releasing the code for public consumption. They deserves more recognition for sure. Gaming Historian deserves kudos as well for bringing people like this to light.

Part of my beloved childhood. I am 53 and still consider this one of the greatest games of all time. The creators should have received more recognition both publicly and financially. They are true legends. Such an amazing video and I appreciate all your hard work in making this.

As someone with degrees in broadcasting who worked in television for 18 years, and I truly do mean this as a compliment, I can’t believe how well made your videos are. They must take you a very long time to produce, and sometimes I don’t know where you come up with the images, video, or most importantly the detailed information. But your images are always very clear, your audio levels solid, and your interviews well done. As a person who grew up throughout the 80’s and 90’s, and grew up with Apple computers at home and school in the 80’s, Oregon Trail is something that’s engrained in my memory. I think some people who weren’t alive in the 80’s or even 90’s, have things with the “You have died of dysentery.” meme, but never even experienced the game in its heyday. That game, along with the Carmen Sandiego games, I swear comprised about 75% of any of the educational games I played growing up. It’s wild looking back today how simplistic they were in their look and design, but they really did serve a useful educational purpose. It’s too bad some more local wholesome companies like MECC were gobbled up by much bigger corporations. But I’m glad some of their games either still exist today, or even if they don’t, we still remember them so fondly.

Hearing them talk about not caring about their lack of payment, basically because "That's what heroes do." Legit got me choked up a bit.

This made me tear up. I played old MECC games as a VERY young child, and Oregon Trail was always the top tier, well ahead of Word/Number Munchers. Great upload. Keep em coming❤

I did know that Oregon Trail was developed for use in the classroom. I *didn't* know that it was three student teachers crunching in a school building after hours because one said "I need a teaching tool for American westward expansion, and I need it in two weeks." That is damn impressive. These men are all a class act in both teaching and technology.

Mr. Dillenberger was a frequent substitute teacher of mine in middle school. He was one of the kindest most genuine people I've ever met! It's so cool to see you share this incredible story that hits so close to home!

fun fact: there are currently 349 games on the "list of video games considered the best" on Wikipedia and Oregon trail is the earliest

I've always enjoyed your documentaries, but I've come to appreciate them even more after viewing some "professional" video game documentaries on other streaming services and realizing how much better structured yours tend to be. You really knocked it out of the park with this one. I normally don't get emotional with these types of documentaries, but you included the heart in addition to the facts. Thank you so much for this.

Gather round kiddos: I'm 40, I had computer lab classes in elementary school on apple II's from 1990- 1996. Oregon trail & Number munchers built my lifelong desire for gaming. Staying inside for lunch to play Oregon trail is a root gaming memory. Thank you so much to people I will never who did so much for my life, Amazing to spend this time with such formative people.

This should be Aired on PBS, but I loved this! Pretty much that Fans knew that the Game was a Labor of Love.

Man these game designers/educators are about as adorable as it gets. These guys deserve a lot more recognition for what they gave the world. Im really happy this video was made. Theyre gaming heroes.

I did not expect to get so emotional watching a video on The Oregon Trail. Seriously, it was such a pleasure listening to these humble men just talking about how they wanted to make learning fun for kids using their talents. I'm glad they've gotten recognition for their achievements, because they themselves ended up making history too. Thank you so much for this beautiful video! I have great memories of playing this in the early 2000s with my siblings.

Wow, this literally just blew my 38 year old mind. This documentary is going to be _huge_ and that makes me very, very happy. What a magical adventure in real life 200 years ago and just as amazing being brought into the digital age for the last 50 years. What an adventure...

Creator of Tux Paint here. I was in 5th & 6th grade between late 1985 and early 1987. My elementary school had a lab full of Apple IIe's, and we played a lot of Oregon Trail, Carmen San Diego, and other edutainment games (plus Logo), and I enjoyed attempting (and failing) to recreate those kind of games in BASIC in my Atari computer (which I still have and use to this day 👍). Excellent documentary video. Keep up the good work!!!

As a resident of the Twin Cities, it's an amazing surprise to hear a local story featured on this channel, great job covering it!

As a teacher it’s just so completely heartwarming to see these guys talk about their genuine love of the practice. Teachers do that everyday - they just do stuff because they know it will help their students learn and it’s the most beautiful thing to help them do just that.

Why is there no GoFundMe for the original creators of Oregon Trail? I would definitely throw in $20 for nostalgia's sake, if I knew it would find it's way to the real people behind the game.

I have only the utmost respect for these men. As a kid in the 90s, we played the 1985 version of the game in our dinky little computer lab that once was a storage closet at my school. Naturally, my classmates and I adored it. And nowadays, I'm a Social Studies teacher who teaches 18th and 19th Century U.S. History, and I get to share the '85 game with my students each year. And most are still just as charmed by the game as I was, and it has always been a hit as a part of that unit's lessons. And, of course, I face constant requests to play it again the rest of the school year... and honestly, we do usually return to it since it's a great way to spend the last day or so of school as things are winding down and everyone's burnt out, haha. A fantastic documentary, can't wait to share it with the other teachers in our history department.

Can I just note that every other documentarian would do this on Kickstarter, release the DVD and blu-ray, tour it at video game conventions... Gaming Historian does all the work and posts it on RU-vid for free. Norm rules.

I was one of those kids who played Oregon Trail in school on the black and green computer monitors. One of my best memories. ❤

Oregon Trail was such a happy part of my childhood. It was definitely my favorite thing to do in elementary school. I wish I could thank the creators. They may not have gotten rich, but they enriched the lives of so many children 💜

Everyone is a gangster until they get bit by a rattlesnake and catch dysentery on the Oregon Trail.

This game is remembered and loved by so many. Not only does the game represent American history, but the events surrounding it's creation also truly tells a great American story. Thanks for putting this together!

The point about treating each of the 400 thousand brave men, women, and children who made the trek like a hero really resonated with me. We as a nation owe so much to these people who risked everything in the hope of a better life out west. What a well put together video! You’ve earned a subscriber from me!

The year was 1988 and I was in 4th grade. My teacher Mrs Perry's husband was a high up at Apple computers and somehow managed to get the company to donate an entire computer lab to our school. All the school needed to do was to provide was the building. I remember my father who was a general contractor and many other local tradesmen coming together on weekends with us kids and getting it built. I remember the truck of equipment showing up and watching Mr Perry and his friends and coworkers setting it all up. Being the mid 80s we were the ONLY public school in the district with a computer lab. Other schools literaly took field trips to our school just to see and use the lab. 90% of my time in that computer lab was spent playing The Oregon Trail. I'll be 45 one week from today and I'm still gaming it up with my son. ❤

This has to be your magnum opus, to date. It's a literal masterpiece. The production value, the music, the interviews, editing, illustrations, script... And definitely, the most touching and emotional so far. Worth the wait.

I love that you were able to get interviews with the original developers of The Oregon Trail for this. You can tell by how they talk, just how much joy they have for the success of their pet project. Wonderful documentary.

First time I've donated money for a RU-vid video. Simply well done, well worth the wait.

The addition of the names was brilliant. Makes it a way more personal experience.

Just the fact Prince was part of the history of The Oregon Trail is in itself legendary...How cool was that??

I’ve been on RU-vid since its inception and I’ve never commented on a video until today. Just have to say that your videos are outstanding. Super insightful and well put together. It’s always a treat when I see a new one pop up on my feed. Thank you for all the work you put into them, it does not go unnoticed! Oregon Trail was one of my favorite games growing up. It was such a fun surprise when we had the chance to load it up in our computer lab and play on the Apple IIs. It’s fun to see the story behind it!

Thank you for creating this video! 🥰 I am 43 and remember playing the 1980s version of the game when attending elementary school. After learning about the history and the men who commenced the beginning of this historical game, I appreicate it even more ❤❤ True innovators of their time 👏🏾 🌹 👏🏾 🌹 👏🏾

Okay, this is the only channel anyone needs for gaming retrospectives; simply all-around brilliant. And for retro gaming comedy…

The 3 fellas that made the game seem like the sweetest and most genuinely kind old men imaginable. True selfless heroes in video game history that haven’t gotten enough recognition, but I think this amazingly well done video will do a lot to help with that now.

Only 7 minutes into this and already the production values and interviews are off the charts! Absolutely top tier stuff. So glad we have Gaming Historian!

I find this documentary super touching. You know why? Because the intention of the creators is so sweet and genuine. "We just wanted kids to learn." I remember playing Oregon Trail at school and being so proud of making it to Oregon when everyone else failed. This was a quality documentary, great production value. I felt like I was watching a Ken Burns documentary. Nice job, definitely miss those days of innocence.

Been a big fan of yours for a long time and you’re second to none at these documentary’s. This was wonderful and I’m glad the creators of the game were spotlighted so nicely in this. Cheers sir from Newfoundland, Canada. I know you’re taking a break from doing these vids but I look forward to seeing more again someday as time frees up for you or life allows. Much success to you sir. 🍻

Me 26 and my father 52 both remember playing this game in grade school. It is a beautiful piece of art that truly connected generations

I am not sure how educational Oregon Trail was, but man was it fun to put your friend’s names in the game and laugh when their avatar died of dysentery.

The quality of these is better than major streaming services’ docs

Gaming Historian I seen your post thank you for the series all that you've done we all have learned the story behind our childhood as we grow it helps even more than I wanna show people my charisma, my passion, my love for video games.....truly man live for you family, you have done a great job every show has a series finale...........but yet i still watch Cheers, and fresh prince, your legacy is always here!!!!!!

"When I was your age, we died of disentery crossing the Oregon Trail, And We Liked It!" Definitely one of the best pieces of software ever created. Thanks for all your time and effort.

My first thought was how in the world are we going to get an hour and a half worth of Oregon Trail and after watching the video I felt that wasn't enough and I wanted more! Absolutely a phenomenal documentary!

This makes me proud to be Minnesotan, and be part of a place that values education!

Thank you so much for making this. Thank you for telling their story and not allowing this history to be lost.

Seriously though... Oregon Trail 2 was amazing. With real people pictures, real voices, random trading, hunting, foraging, making sure you had sufficient supplies...all of it. You could customize your entire party, their jobs before joining your party. It was just a really cool, really fun game. Being born in '85, I never played the original, but it was certainly a very well known part of pop culture. Just started the video, but...eager to hear about this. 😁😁

A few years ago i tried playing the Oregon trail card game with some friends. The first card i picked was "you have died of dysentery". Man that brought back memories.

Pure Netflix quality right here. Awesome video that taught me, as a European, what the whole Oregon trail hype is all about. We didn't get to play it over here obviously

My favorite game of all time. Thank you to the creators of this fantastic experience.

Oregon Trail in the video game hall of fame is a no brainer, but how was it not included in the introductory class is mind boggling. It’s the educational game, it’s the standard that all other educational games should stride for and be judged by

Outstanding documentary. Thank you so much for the continued years of excellent and enriching education.

This was a very well done documentary. This was like watching the great Ken Burns documentaries. Perfectly timed pictures referencing the current discussion. What a great game that was so fun you didn’t even think about it being educational. Well done, you get an A!

Norm, this is above and beyond. This is incredible. You deserve every bit of accolades and more. Keep up the amazing work and I'm excited for more.

When I was a teacher, I used to have my students play Oregon Trail as an alternate way to learn about the westward expansion and had them do a creative writing assignment of having kids pretend they were in the wagon, experiencing everything. They were stoked to play video games during school, permitted by a teacher, hahaha.

Holy crap, Norm is just improving 10 fold with every episode. How can anyone moan about the wait when the result is of this quality? The mood set in the first few moments was enough.

This is amazing! Don't know how RU-vid thought to target me, but so glad they did. This was very well done, and the original creators were so wholesome!

Such a good documentary. Thank you for shining light on a shining light in so many students' experience at school.

I was an elementary schooler in The Dalles, OR in the mid/late 80s, and I remember thinking naively that this game was made especially for us because our town was the end goal of the game.

I have a feeling that if you went to elementary school in the USA during the 90's you most likely know this game. I played it many hundreds of times. From an Apple II E, to a Macintosh, to the I-Mac. so many core memories unlocked Thanks very much for this video :)

When the day comes these three pioneers and teaching legends leave our world, it would be so cool to have each landmark along the actual Oregon Trail have their names immortalized for all to see. This way, future generations that see these landmarks and learn about the trail can see that they helped us also travel the trail together with those that came before. Thank you to the The Trail Trio! Your work lives on forever!

I played a version of Oregon Trail in school but as a Star Kid their musical Trail to Oregon will always have a special place in my heart. The story of the Dikrats family consisting of Jack Bauer, Slippery When Wet, Mouth Face, Crap Hole and Titty Mitty will always make me laugh.

These are Educators through and through. It’s not about making bank, it’s about helping others. Fantastic video, thank you so much for it

Keeping up on the updates on your Patreon and seeing this project take shape over the last year or so has been fun and fascinating. I already watched it on Patreon but it was so good I'm watching it a second time right now. You're all in for a treat. The 90 minutes will fly by. Incredible job with this one, Norm. You should be very proud of it.

Thanks so much for this. Your docs are always such high quality and I'd say this is probably my favorite so far. Excellent work!

The work you put into these videos shows, I love watching all your new deep dives. Keep it up!!

Projects like this is why I will never stop supporting you on Patreon. You are extremely talented Norm and you're way of telling stories and explaining the history of games, accessories, and anything else you can think of is second to none. I hope all is going well for you in life and that you and your family are doing well. Looking forward to many more years of videos.

You knocked it out of the park again. Great topic! Really cool interviews with the creators. Unparalleled quality in this space!

Lots of love @gaminghistorian grew up watching all of these videos u made get so excited when u post

I grew up in Minnesota in the late 80s, so MECC floppies were always part of my grade school education. Totally had no idea Oregon Trail (and Word Munchers!) were already being used around the country by that point! Growing up on the Apple II version, it's so fascinating to learn the evolution and process of the game. Thanks so much.

Thank you for the amazing upload and talking about this nostalgic game. I know it means a lot to a lot of your viewers.

Great trip down memory lane. Thank you gaming historian!!

Fantastic coverage of this monumental game! Thank you for making this!

WE FORDIN' ACROSS THE RIVER WITH THIS ONE!

I like the interview with Philip Bouchard, he really does a great job of describing the game design ideas and brainstorming behind the version that his team worked on and expanded on. This is the version I grew up playing and loved.

This was an incredible documentary! Great job! This was well worth the wait.

Amazing work on this! What a wonderful game and an important story to be told. Thank you Norm!

Mattel really did the whole Embracer Group botching decades earlier. That aside... Gods I loved learning the original devs with their stories and getting the game out there. Played it as a little kid 30 years ago on an Apple 2, and beat it on a Macintosh. It helped me seek a career path to IT. Thanks for telling their story, Norm. Masterclass work.

BROOO the production quality this time was unreal. This was an extremely professional documentary.

What a great doc, that was great all the way through. Really happy these guys get a small bit of the spotlight they deserve

I was born in 1981. Some call us Elder Millenials, but I've also heard us referred to as "The Oregon Trail Generation". This game was a huge part of my childhood and I'm not even American, I'm Canadian. Thanks for telling such a fascinating story so wonderfully Norm, you honestly make some of the best and most well produced documentaries on RU-vid.

I am always blown away by the quality of these videos. I find my self saying "do I really wanna watch an hour and a half about Oregon Trail?" Yes, yes I do. These are some of the best flowing docs I've seen. I absolutely love them.

I played this back in 80’s. We also played Odell Lake and a life sim game where you planted different trees. All in glorious green and black.

I remember playing a rendition of this as a kid, I found the topic absolutely fascinating and I wanted to get into it, but I was too young to know what imperial measurements meant, and I didn’t realize how much of anything would be a reasonable amount, so I often ended up massively overloaded, moving slowly though the plains while diseases took down my crew one by one, either that or I’d lose everything in the first river and starve to death trapped in the snow. Now that I’m an adult though, maybe it’s fine I give this game another go. I think I’d love to experience this game properly now that I have the knowledge to do it.

Had a smile on my face for the nearly 1.5 hour run time. I got to play a PC version of this game in the mid-90’s in the classroom but I also found a copy of the Apple II version in a storage room (I was at the school during the summer with my mom who was a teacher at the time and I was messing about) and played that around 1999-ish. Also played the Amazon Trail game at home as well. So cool hearing about the game and how the creators were just so selfless, kind teachers who wanted something interactive and fun for their students. Mix that with the genius of innovative video game designers in the 80’s and you had a truly timeless game. Games like these set into motion a lifelong intense interest in history/geography that I still spend hours every week indulging in (though I work in the healthcare field now as a guy in my mid-30’s) through RU-vid, Wikipedia, and the occasional book, as well as traveling to museums and other historical places. Kudos to these guys for making every millennial kid’s childhood and educational experience much more interesting!

When I hear your narration, I can’t help but remember “The Wonder Years” show. The Oregon Trail is one of my favorite games from my youth; I still remember having to flip the disc on our old Apple II when you reached Fort Laramie. The thrill of rafting down the Columbia River. The anxiety that comes when your food is running low, you’re down to your last 10 bullets, and winter is starting to creep up on you. The “alert” sound in Oregon Trail 2 still haunts me to this day. Naming your wagon party after your parents and siblings at the age of 7 sounds like a great idea… until your mom drowns in a river, your brother gets lost wandering off from the wagon, and your sister dies of cholera. Then it’s just traumatic. 🤣 Plus, with our Royals FINALLY looking like a winning franchise again, I hope that has you as stoked as I am for this season. Thanks for all of the great videos of the year! Your passion and dedication to your craft is unmatched. Looking forward to more content in the future.

I'm 20 minutes into watching this, but I had to stop and go ahead and comment. This game did so many things for me as a kid in elementary school in the early 1980s. Mostly, it got me hooked on computer gaming and it put a deep love of history into my soul that has never subsided. I started off on the Apple II port but when the 1985 version came out there was always a battle between us when we went to the library to get the computers with color monitors. If I ever get dysentery, I I can handle it because I've died so many times from it already.

The quality of these productions always make them worth the wait. Awesome topic to cover.

I needed this today thanks man seriously one of the best channels on youtube.

Absolutely insane that this level of documentary is available for free on RU-vid. OT is one of the first video games I remember playing. Incredible work, thank you.