JayDax Computer Information Centre

1. Collect gold nuggets on the trail. Each one earns you $5
   
2. Click the coloured gems to get 25 coins.
3. Sell objects you find.
4. Buy trade goods and sell them in Oregon City
5. Exchange 1 trail note for $50

1. You get 5 trail notes each time you complete a trip to Oregon City
2. If your animals produce young you can sell it for 2 TN
3. You can buy trail notes for Facebook Credits
4. Some of the achievements offer trail note rewards
5. Some of the quests offer trail note rewards

1. You get 5 food every time you click on the food found on the trail
2. You can hunt for food using the mini-game. This costs 30 energy. In the first part of the trail you'll only find small game - squirrels and rabbits. After Fort Kearney you'll find more.
3. You can find food items using the search mini-game. Eggs give you 75 food and Dried fruit 100 food. Yucca gives you 200 food but you are unlikely to find it on the first part of the trail.
4. You can find food items in abandoned wagons - hardtack (200 food) and flour (450 food)
5. When you run out you have the chance to buy food from a passing traveller for trail notes

1. Click the crates you find on the trail for a 5 stamina reward
2. There are several objects you can find with the search mini-game which will give you extra stamina. These are:
   • Squirrel Stew - 15 stamina
   • Buffalo Jerky - 50 stamina
   • Spicy Chili - 50 stamina + 50 Energy + 30% increase to wagon speed for 1 hour
   • Moccasins - 15 stamina +25 health +5% speed boost for 12 hours
   • Agave - 30 stamina +30 energy +risk of delerium
   • Yucca - 30 stamina +200 food
   • Sleeping bag - use only if you are not short of time since it loses you 1-3 days - 30 Stamina + 30 energy + health boost
3. Sometimes eating the fruit on the trail gives you more stamina
4. At Oregon City you can buy bacon which restores 50 stamina
5. If you earn enough XP to go to the next level your stamina will be fully restored. Try using the mini-games or helping your friends who have added you to their team.
6. You can wait. Over time your stamina will restore at a rate of one stamina every two minutes.
7. You can spend 8 Trail Notes to refill your stamina

The following posts on the discussion board will help you find others who need friends in The Oregon Trail:

Need Friends, Oregon Trail Friends...,

You must get to Oregon City by 21 December or you will fail. You have a choice of three speeds. Grueling, steady and slow. Most experienced players travel at grueling speed all the time BUT this might not be the best choice for a beginner with limited food. Travelling at the different speeds uses the same amount of stamina per mile but different amounts of food

• Grueling speed uses 4 food per mile at about 15 miles per day
• Steady speed uses 2 food per mile at about 10 miles per day
• Slow speed uses 1.4 food per mile at about 5 miles per day

So if you are short of food - slow down!

Go to the status icon (book) at the bottom right and click it. There's a 'Give up' button at the bottom right. using that will allow you to restart at Independence. You'll keep any items you've found or bought and get a minimum of 300 food if you have less than that.

If you have the standard rifle then don't try to get bison unless you have at least 3 hearts showing at the bottom because you are going to get stunned twice probably.

To shoot bear, coyotes or bison stay in the middle, shoot as soon as the animal gets on the screen. It will charge you. Step sideways at 90 degrees to the charge and shoot as it gets near you. If it's a bison, you'll get charged again and with the normal rifle - probably squished. Keep your gun on the bison as it runs off and shoot it as it nears the edge of the screen. Go get the meat straight away or you'll lose it. The video below shows the technique:

 

Bison you don't shoot won't hurt you, bears and coyotes will.

With the repeating rifle it's MUCH easier:
Wait until bears and coyotes are almost upon you before you shoot. You need one shot only and the meat will be right next to you.
Shoot bison as they enter the screen and wait until they are almost upon you to shoot again. You will kill them with your second shot.

Squirrels always appear before bears, coyotes and bison. Ignore the first one.
Near Independence shoot squirrels when they stop moving. You won't see bears, wolves or bison

Most of the time what you get from squirrels and rabbits isn't worth the effort UNLESS you see a very large one. That's an epic animal and worth shooting. You won't get meat from it but will see a gold box fly off the screen to indicate you got it. When you leave the hunt check your inventories.

Before Fort Kearney you'll only see small game; squirrels and occasional rabbit. After Fort kearney you'll find bears. After the Platte River Crossing you'll get Buffalo and bears.

Independence MO - Shawnee Mission - 40 miles
- Kansas River Crossing
- Alcove Spring
- Big Blue River Crossing

Raft down the Big Blue River to Rock Creek Station

Rock Creek Station
- Ft. Kearney 75 miles
- Platte River Crossing 150 miles

At this point you can take either the upper or lower route to Ft. Laramie (same mileage 165 miles). Just make sure if you take the upper route you don't go to Courthouse Rock.
Northern route is - Chimney Rock 85 miles
- Scott's Bluff 30 miles
- Fort Laramie 50 miles

Southern rout is - Windlass Hill 35 miles
- Ash Hollow 30 miles
- Fort Laramie 100 miles

Ft. Laramie - Ft. Caspar (Friend locked, but worth it) 100 miles
- Independence Rock 60 miles

Raft down the river to South Pass 100 miles

South Pass - The Parting of Ways 10 miles
- Soda Springs 150 miles
- Ft. Hall 52 miles

Raft down the river to Shoshone Falls 125 miles

Shoshone Falls
- Salmon Falls
- Three Island Crossing 50 miles
- Ft. Boise (By the South Shore) 125 miles
- Blue Mountains 100 miles
- Whitman Mission 85 miles
- The Dalles 80 miles NB At least 5 miles before you get there try to cure as many illnesses as possible. Travel the last bit at grueling pace.

Raft down the river to Oregon City 90 miles
Total Mileage: 1442 Land, 340 River, Requires 1442 Stamina, Awards 721 XP

It's almost the same as the shortest route but since you would need to avoid buffalo stampedes which can delay you by 1-2 days you will need to take the slightly longer southern route from Fort Laramie. It has fewer buffalo hunts than the northern route.

Independence MO - Shawnee Mission - 40 miles
- Kansas River Crossing
- Alcove Spring
- Big Blue River Crossing

Raft down the Big Blue River to Rock Creek Station

Rock Creek Station
- Ft. Kearney 75 miles
- Platte River Crossing 150 miles

At this point you take either the lower route to Ft. Laramie (same mileage 165 miles).

Southern rout is - Windlass Hill 35 miles
- Ash Hollow 30 miles
- Fort Laramie 100 miles

Ft. Laramie - Independence Rock (southern route) 180 miles

Raft down the river to South Pass 100 miles

South Pass - The Parting of Ways 10 miles
- Soda Springs 150 miles
- Ft. Hall 52 miles

Raft down the river to Shoshone Falls 125 miles

Shoshone Falls
- Salmon Falls
- Three Island Crossing 50 miles
- Ft. Boise (By the South Shore) 125 miles
- Blue Mountains 100 miles
- Whitman Mission 85 miles
- The Dalles 80 miles NB At least 5 miles before you get there try to cure as many illnesses as possible.

Raft down the river to Oregon City 90 miles
Total Mileage: 1442 Land, 340 River, Requires 1442 Stamina, Awards 721 XP

it's now possible to go round and round the Grand Canyon section in an infinite loop so this isn't really appropriate any longer. You can also make repeated trips down the various spurs leading off the trail.

On the direct route to Oregon City, according to Brandon James:

Longest route
=============
Independence MO
- Shawnee Mission 40 miles
- Kansas River Crossing 42 miles
- Granada Station 60 miles
- Alcove Spring 60 miles
- Ft. Kearny 155 miles
- Platte River Crossing 150 miles
- Chimney Rock 85 miles
-(Courthouse Rock Loop Here) 75 miles (150 total)
- Scotts Bluff 30 miles
- Ft. Laramie 50 miles
- Independence Rock 180 miles
- (Devil's Gate Loop Here) 10 miles (20 total)
- Burnt Ranch 90 miles
- South Pass 10 miles
- The Parting of Ways 10 miles
- Ft. Bridger 115 miles
- Ft. Buenaventura 75 miles
- Soda Springs 90 miles
- Ft. Hall 52 miles
- Shoshone Falls
- Salmon Falls 25 miles
- Three Island Crossing 50 miles
- Ft. Boise (By North Shore) 130 miles (the South shore route looks longer but is 125 miles)
- Blue Mountains 100 miles
-(Flagstaff Hill Loop Here) 45 miles (90 total - needs 12 friends to unlock)
- Whitman Mission 85 miles
- The Dalles 80 miles
- Oregon City - Road route 90 miles

• Because you get 1 XP for every 2 miles you travel and this raises your level.
• Because one of the achievements is to run out of time and die when winter starts on 22nd Dec. You then have the option of spending trail notes to rewind time and in doing so earn an achievement

Log off from Facebook. Close down all windows in your browser then restart it. You may then find yourself connected by a different server which might be faster. This often makes the movement less jerky and fixes the problem where the cursor keys stop working during the river trips. Of course you can't do this if you have already started hunting/river rafting.

As in real life you have to collect the animals you hunt. Make sure you click on the meat and collect it before the 70 seconds you have for each hunt are up.

Small game only appears before Fort Kearney. If you are hunting small game shoot several before you pick it up but keep an eye on the timer - you have 70 seconds only.

Nothing - ignore it. They won't die unless you run out of food or their health reaches 'Critical' and do nothing about that also. Don't waste resources trying to cure it or wait for them to get better.

Just before you get to a destination - say 2 miles away, stop and if you have anything which improves health use that. Then use any snake cures you have.

You get more experience points for arriving with all your team healthy.

As for snakebite - do nothing until you are a couple of miles from your destination. Then, if you have anything which improves health use that. Then use any cures you have.

You get more experience points for arriving with all your team healthy.

Click on the item, move off it. You will see a thumbs up icon. Click that.

Illness and injury are seperate from 'health'. If someone has an illness, injury or you have no food their health will start to fall quickly. Once it drops to zero they will die. Curing an illness/injury does not cure health. You can improve health by using any of the items shown in the 'Items to buy and find' page which increase health. Health will also improve while you are not playing the game.

If you want to kill off your team then, don't buy food, don't collect food, don't cure anything and use food faster by running at maximum speed.

You can only do this at a store or when you are with the Indian or Peddler. In their shop display select the item in your inventory You'll see an icon with coins appear - use that.

The stones have now all changed to Geodes. You can sell each one for 2 coins. If you have lots - it's probably not worth the effort since you can collect more from the trail in the time it takes to sell two of them. Keep them.

Some can only be used, not sold. You can sell the beads - 10 coins, arrowheads - 25 coins, eagle feathers - 50 coins and unwanted bones you find - 10 coins

You should keep these and they will be sold at a profit in Oregon City. Buy as many as you can. If you have a choice, buy the items which stack - Cotton is a good choice. 5 of them can be put in one slot and it is not expensive to buy.

If they are really sick - just keep going but you will be slowed down.

Sometimes this happens when a baby ox is about to be born in which case - great! You can sell the baby for 5 Trail Notes. Trading it for food isn't a good deal.

It's worthwhile going back to look for them, but not if you are getting near 20th December! When you find them they'll probably be injured. Keep going until near a destination then apply any bandages, poultices or health improving tonics.

It's even possible for someone to fall off a stationary wagon and get lost!

If you are traveling as an explorer it will reduce the energy cost of the mini-game search to 11. That's why so many people travel as explorer. The spyglass's effect stacks with the survival skins so searches can cost as little as 8 energy.

You MUST travel as the explorer to find it. Look out for the Peddler. She will often be near Oregon City if you are an explorer. If you don't find her by the time you get to The Dalles then take the road route to Oregon City. Pay 1 TN to see her special inventory and you'll find the spyglass in the tools section. It will cost you a further 15 TN.

1. The repeating rifle - buy it in Oregon City for 30 TN. (You may have to make 3 trips to get enough)
2. The iron armour - buy it in Oregon City for 5 TN
3. The Spyglass 16 TN
4. Anything else you want.

Keep going. You will be slowed down but the other options cost you time.

Keep going. It's a little odd to see 'Steve' running or walking with a broken leg but wait until you are almost at a destination before you attempt a cure. Cure him/her with a bandage or poultice.

This means you've run out of food or their health reached 'Critical' and you did nothing! If you don't get more food immediately/attend to the health of the rest of the party then more of your team will die. Choose to continue but click the mini-game icon straight away and go hunt for more food.

The apprentice tools add to the rate at which your wagon is repaired when you play the repair mini-game. (10%) You may not notice this.

The journeyman's tools do the same thing but at a rate of 35% - definitely noticeable.

Items you buy for coins can be lost crossing rivers, during flash floods and to bandits. The actual items lost used to be always the first cash bought item on the left of your inventory and the solution to this was to put something which costs little in this slot. Lemons are ideal. You can stack 10 lemons in one slot. Now, the item chosen could be anything you purchased for cash. It's still a good idea to keep well stocked up with lemons and any other low cost items. If you run short of inventory slots then sell an inexpensive item to make room for what you want to buy.

It's far better to lose a lemon than your apprentice tools or something else expensive

This is no longer worth doing but I've left it here since it explains something about the banker.

You can't move the lemons but you can move things to the left of them. By doing this you can move the lemons one place left. If you are playing as the banker, you can move lemons to the leftmost slot of your inventory as follows:

1. Find a store which sells the item/s you want to move to the right of the lemons.
2. Select the item in your inventory, and click the coin which appears to sell it.
3. Buy the item again.

If you are NOT traveling as a banker, this will cost you money!

It's not quite complete yet but try this one