The Oregon Trail 3rd Edition
The Oregon Trail 3rd Edition: Pioneer Adventures, from November 1997, returns to the 1848 journey with acted scenes, 3D pictures and fishing.
- Year
- 1997
- Developer
- MECC
- Publisher
- The Learning Company
- Platforms
- Windows, Macintosh, Web (DOSBox)
The game starts right away and downloads the rest while you play.
What is the 3rd Edition?
The Oregon Trail 3rd Edition: Pioneer Adventures takes you back to the 1848 journey to Oregon after the wider choices of Oregon Trail II. It came on three CDs, full of photo-realistic 3D pictures and scenes played by actors.
It was made for Windows 95 and the Macintosh. You install it from the first CD, and the game needs that CD in the drive while you play.
Choosing your wagon party
The trip starts at a hotel in Independence. The clerk has drawn up a contract for a wagon party, and you fill it in with the people you want to travel with, choosing them by their skills and their supplies. Each one has a job, such as merchant, farmer or teacher.
Most conversations are acted out by performers filmed in front of a green screen. You meet the shopkeeper, other travelers and the people of each town.
On the trail
Along the way the game stops for events, each with a painted picture and a choice. If the wagon gets stuck in the mud, you can double-team the animals or lighten the load. At rivers you can check the conditions, wait, ford, or caulk the wagon and float it across. A diary records what happens on the trip, date by date.
A guidebook describes the places and plants along the trail and gives hints when you get stuck.
Hunting, fishing and gathering
Fishing joins hunting as a way to find food, and you can also gather fruits and vegetables. When you gather plants you have to throw away the poisonous ones, and the guidebook tells you which plants are safe, such as stinging nettle and sunflowers.
Release and reception
MECC developed the 3rd Edition as part of The Learning Company, and it was released in November 1997 for Windows and Macintosh. The Learning Company reported that it won a Parents' Choice Gold Award. A DVD-ROM version followed in 1998, with new characters, advice from the members of your wagon party and new scenes when you stop to rest.
When PC Gamer ranked the versions of The Oregon Trail in 2020, the 3rd Edition came second. The review praised it for making the new ideas of Oregon Trail II more fun, but found the fishing a bit boring.
Playing it here
The version on this site is the Windows release of the 3rd Edition, version 1.2, installed in Windows 95 and running right in your web browser. It starts on its own once Windows has loaded. It is free, and you do not need an account to play.
All three CDs are in the player. When the game asks for another disc, open the disc button on the left side of the player and pick the one it wants. The game keeps running while you switch. As a guest, your saved games stay in this web browser. If you are 13 or older, an optional account keeps them for you.
Notable systems
- Set in 1848, from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon
- Scenes played by actors filmed in front of a green screen
- Photo-realistic 3D pictures and full-motion video on three CDs
- Fishing as well as hunting
- A guidebook with hints
- A 1998 DVD-ROM version with new characters and scenes
More from the game
23 frames from The Oregon Trail 3rd Edition, at the resolution it originally ran at. Pick one to see it at full size.