Gameloft is offering the official iPhone and iPod Touch version of The Oregon Trail, a classic historical and educational simulation game, for free on the App Store for a limited time. The description of the sale on the application’s page in the App Store says the giveaway will continue for “a few days,” but gave no specifics. The game, which re-traces the travels and struggles of early pioneer families as they crossed from Missouri to Oregon, normally sells for $1.
A Blast From Childhood
The game, which was originally developed in 1971, is set in the year 1848 and gives players the role of a wagon train leader guiding families from Independence, Missouri to the Williamette Valley in Oregon. Over the decades, the game has seen numerous versions and sequels from various publishers, but one of the first was a version for the Apple II in 1981, with a Mac version appearing in 1992.
As the original mission of the Oregon Trail was educational, the game incorporated the priorities of the travellers, such as hunting for food and guarding against human or animal illness. The current iOS version has been on the App Store since 2009 and has made a number of modern gameplay updates and improved graphics from earlier versions. Gameloft is using the free giveaway of the original game as a promotion of its own forthcoming sequel, The Oregon Trail: American Settler which is due out soon.
