How The Oregon Trail became a generational icon

<figure> <img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/VRH_Oregon_Trail_Site.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">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 playing <em>The Oregon Trail</em>.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">On <a href="https://pod.link/1840983742">the season 5 premiere of <em>Version History,</em></a><em> </em>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 of <em>The Oregon Trail, </em>the game's complicated legacy, and whether anyone ever really died of dysentery.</p> <iframe frameborder="0" height="200" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=VMP5960655500" width="100%"></iframe> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">This is the first episode of the fifth season of <em>Version History</em>, and this time we're going back to school. In the week …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/podcast/995432/how-the-oregon-trail-became-a-generational-icon">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>