As the longest-published, most successful educational game of all time,
The Oregon Trail has blazed a path for the use of video games in
learning. Three student teachers, Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul
Dillenberger, created The Oregon Trail in 1971 to help Minnesota
schoolchildren learn American History.

First programmed on a primitive teletype printer, the game challenged
students to assume the role of Western settlers crossing the continent
on the way to the Pacific coast. Players had to choose which items to
bring, how fast to travel, and what to do when food ran low or disease
struck.

When Rawitsch joined the Minnesota Educational Computer Consortium
(MECC) in 1974, he brought along the code for the game and MECC
developed a version for distribution to schools—first in Minnesota and
then around the United States. The game has been widely available ever
since, appearing on every major computing platform, from mainframes to
smartphones.

In the 1970s and 1980s, when computing access was rare, The Oregon Trail
not only instructed players in American history but also introduced them
to computers. More than 65 million copies of the game that have been
sold testify to the game’s appealing story and fun play. The Oregon
Trail is perhaps the oldest continuously available video game ever made,
but more importantly, it pioneered a blend of learning and play that
showcases the valuable contribution games can make to education. 