How The Oregon Trail became a generational icon

On Version History: The game’s designer tells us how the brutal edutainment adventure came together.

On Version History: The game’s designer tells us how the brutal edutainment adventure came together.

by

David Pierce

and

Travis Larchuk

Sep 15, 2026, 4:18 PM UTC

Whether you played it in the back of your classroom or on your computer at home, if you were a kid in the last 30 years you almost certainly grew up playingThe Oregon Trail.

Onthe season 5 premiere ofVersion History,our fearless wagon leader David Pierce is joined by gaming journalist Chris Grant and Philip Bouchard, the designer and team leader of the game’s most iconic version. They talk about the academic origins ofThe Oregon Trail,the game’s complicated legacy, and whether anyone ever really died of dysentery.

This is the first episode of the fifth season ofVersion History, and this time we’re going back to school. In the weeks to come, we’re taking on the iconic TI-84 graphing calculator, One Laptop Per Child, Chromebook, LeapPad, and the overhead projector.

Plus, this Friday, we’ll livestream a playthrough ofThe Oregon TrailfromThe Verge’s YouTube channel. Find out which Verge staffers make it to the end, and which ones fall along the way.

Here’s how to get every episode as soon as it drops:

If you’re aVergesubscriber, you can alsoget access toVersion History(and all our other podcasts) with no ads. All you have to do isvisit your account settings.

If you want to know more aboutThe Oregon Trail, here are some links to get you started:

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  • David Pierce
  • Travis Larchuk

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