If you have nostalgia for the game, you’ll find a lot to love here.Įach book is a standalone story – so you don’t need to read them in order – and features 20+ different endings. They’re intended for elementary and middle school aged kids (roughly the same age that would’ve played the game), but don’t let that stop you. There are currently 8 different books in the series, and each is set during a different year from 1845 to 1855 on a specific stretch of the infamous Oregon Trail:

There’s a board game and two card games that attempt to re-create that original video game for the tabletop.īut relevant to our interests here, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has been quietly putting out a series of “Choose Your Own Trail!” books based on The Oregon Trail. I even had a copy for our first family computer – an Apple IIe – so I could play whenever I wanted! The game has been revamped and updated a few times over the years, but the original is currently experiencing a bit of a resurgence. Those of you who went to elementary school in the 80s undoubtedly have memories of The Oregon Trail. In this series, we’ll highlight a few of the books and series that require you to read closely, make decisions, and hopefully avoid a gruesome end. Sure, most of my fondness for the genre has its roots in nostalgia, but I still collect them (there are treasures to be found at used bookstores), and I’m continually amazed at just how many different series there were.įrom the OG Choose Your Own Adventure books to Time Machine, Twistaplot, Find Your Fate, Endless Quest, Lone Wolf, Fighting Fantasy, and so many more, the 80s were the absolute heyday for immersive gamebooks.īut they’re still around, and there are a number of series putting out new books that deserve more attention.

I’m an unabashed fan of classic “choose your own adventure” style gamebooks.

The oregon trail book review