“You have died of dysentery” — that’s a phrase familiar to anyone who played the classic classroom computer game Oregon Trail. And next month, that educational video game will once again be reincarnated as a live-action event at Brookings Public Library. 

“We’ve done it a couple times before, and we’ve gotten really good turnout. People enjoy it,” Nancy Swenson, programming supervisor at the library, said. 

The computer game simulated a wagon train journey from Missouri to Oregon set during the 1840s. Players had to manage limited resources while enduring random misfortunes along the way — wagon breakdowns, snakebites, or the occasional bout of dysentery. The game was widely distributed in schools throughout the 1980s and 1990s; and in 2016, the National Museum of Play inducted Oregon Trail into their World Video Game Hall of Fame.

The live-action version in Brookings will take place nightly Aug. 5-7 at the library. It incorporates a card game variation of the computer game with a series of physical skill tests and puzzle-solving challenges.

“We’ve taken the Oregon Trail game, the card game … which is obviously based on the vintage computer game, and we’ve blown that card game up to life size and added some different twists to it. Like, you know, in the original computer game you have to go hunting for meat. In this life-size game, we have bean bags and you have to be a bean bag pro to collect your meat to survive the trail,” Swenson said. “Depending on what cards you pull, you either have to hunt for meat, or you maybe have to solve a puzzle to collect resources.”

If a card is drawn indicating a party member has been injured, those simulated wounds are treated by playing a quick round of the board game Operation.

“You have to pull a piece out without beeping to resolve like an injury card. So there’s some interaction with it,” Swenson said. “And then you’re building that trail all the way to Oregon and hopefully not dying of dysentery.”

Playing the game at the library is free, but space is limited. According to library board minutes from August 2023, last year’s Oregon Trail event had 61 participants. 

“It’s an all-ages program, and you register in groups,” Swenson said. “You register for a slot one of those nights.”

Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Groups of players can register through the library’s website for a one hour timeslot of gameplay.

“It’s four slots a night — so 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.,” Swenson said. “It’s all ages, so you know it’s a good date night event, it’s a good family event, a friend group, whatever — whoever wants to come out for it.”

Registration opens Aug. 30 at 8 a.m. on a first come, first serve basis. More information is available at the website https://www.brookingslibrary.org. 

Email Jay Roe at jroe@brookingsregister.com.