I can remember doing this once. I don't know how I was so lucky to do so. I believe I recall being a doctor as my trade.
So many times was I doing extremely well all the way up to the end only to have that dang river crossing rob me of half my group. I mean, really?! How am I supposed to build a cabin with just myself and one kid?!

I died of dysentery.

The intrigue...

Indeed!

The trick to this is actually resting frequently. When your party members become sick or injured just take enough rest days with enough food until their illness clears up. Continuing to travel aggravates it. That's why people die. When we all played this game in the computer lab as kids none of us ever rested and that's why all our party members died before we were even to Fort Bridger.

With Rivers there's some degree of luck, though you should pay a ferry or a guide whenever you can instead of fording or floating the wagon across. Not worth the headache unless there's no other choice.

By the way, there is a post-apocalyptic zombie remake of this game, called, appropriately enough, "The Organ Trail," which uses the same basic strategy as the original game.

Oh it was nothing much. I finished a game in one sitting in the toilet, playing it on my HTC. Only John died; dysentery too. Bugger.

We were so close to town, and I even harried the oxen, but alas.

If the goal is just to have everyone survive:

-Play as a doctor. This gives you plenty of money, and it makes people less likely to die.
-Buy plenty of clothing. At least 1 spare set per person, but as a doctor you should easily be able to afford more. Clothes prevent illness.
-Make sure to always have enough food. Lack of food almost immediately makes your health go down.
-Travel at the slowest pace (steady?). Strenuous or grueling pace tires your crew, making health go down.
-Whenever someone is sick, stop and rest*. That makes them less likely to die.
-Use ferries when available.

That and a bit of luck, and you should be fiiiiine.


*Except if they have a broken limb or is bitten by a snake. Those things take way too long to recover from.

It does? I didn't know that. I thought it only kills your oxen faster.

Pretty sure it does, although I must admit that most of my knowledge of traveling the Trail is second hand.

Oh, and also, give out the largest rations. You can always hunt for more food.

I watched someone stream it. He tried to ford the river.

Everyone drowned, including Bill Cosby.

I actually had a party make it all the way there in perfect health and beat the highscore, due to being a farmer (the farmer gets a crazy score multiplier on account of being poor as fuck) and and having good luck. I'm pretty sure it wasnt the original, though, because the graphics were too good. It must have been some re-release.

Easy. Go slow, stop to rest and hunt often, and when you hit a river, caulk the wagon and float it.

Dude it's a documentary! Life is rough!

I thought the game was coded to ensure that at least one person died.

Now that I think about it, why isn't there an Oregon Trail KS? You know the one that adds in the real possibilities like eating the dead for sustenance, the delicious, delicious sustenance.