Aug 12 2011

Zynga To Launch Pioneer Trail: Social Gaming Meets Oregon Trail

By Ben Parr


Social gaming juggernaut Zynga will flip the switch later today on The Pioneer Trail, a new social adventure game within FrontierVille.

Unlike all of Zynga’s previous games, Pioneer Trail is a linear adventure with a set beginning and end. Users outfit a wagon and traverse not one, but three different maps with their own unique set of missions and achievements. It also places an emphasis on a storyline where users get to choose their own adventure.

FrontierVille general manager John Osvald explained to Mashable that Zynga wanted to use different social gaming mechanics for this extension of the FrontierVille franchise. In FarmVille, Empires & Allies and Zynga’s other social games, gameplay improves as users add more friends as neighbors or allies. In Pioneer Trail, that concept is discarded. Instead, the game only lets users travel the trail with three of their closest friends, which Zynga hopes will result in more intimate gameplay.

For users who can’t find three friends to join them in Pioneer Trail, Zynga will soon roll out a feature for matching them with existing players. Users can also add computer characters to their team, though the game will progress slower without having friends constantly playing. Osvald says that the typical game will take approximately three weeks to complete, although one set of power users were able to beat the game in 36 hours.

The game features a journey through three separate maps: Beaver Valley, High Plains and Avalanche Pass. Each area has an expansive map that is five times the size of any previous Zynga game, and each one has distinct art. Trekking through each area requires cutting down trees, acquiring Trail Points and helping people along the way. Each friend is given a distinct skill set (doctor, hunter, etc.), all of which are essential to surviving the trail without succumbing to illness or a broken wagon.

Once a team completes the game and reaches Fort Courage (the game’s finish line), users can transfer the prize tickets and resources they earn to their FrontierVille town. Users are scored on how well they played the game (based on the decisions they made, how efficiently they traveled the trail, etc). If users aren’t satisfied with their score, they have the option to travel the trail again. Users can spend the points they earned on previous Pioneer Trail trips on bigger wagons and more resources, making the game easier to complete the second or third time around.

Zynga has been experimenting with new types of game mechanics as its highly anticipated IPO approaches. Although the company’s revenue is booming and has been profitable since 2010, it hasn’t been able to surpass 236 million active users in the past 12 months. The company is hoping that new games like Pioneer Trail will help the company attract those new users.

Check out the screenshots below and let us know in the comments what you think of Pioneer Trail.


Avalanche Pass





Beaver Valley





High Plains





More of the High Plains




More About: frontierville, Oregon Trail, Pioneer Trail, social games, social gaming, Zynga

For more Social Media coverage:


Categories: Oregon Trail, Pioneer Trail, Zynga, frontierville, gaming, social games, social gaming
Feb 02 2011

“Oregon Trail” Hits Facebook

By Christina Warren


Break out your snake bite kits — Oregon Trail is now on Facebook!

Oregon Trail for Facebook combines qualities of the original game (and its various incarnations) with popular social games like FarmVille and CityVille.

Users can add friends to their wagon parties and have the option to continue on a solitary journey or with an entourage. Supplies for the trail — items like food, antibiotics, wagon parts and clothing — can be procured using virtual currency. This currency can be purchased with Facebook Credits.

Aside from general trail activities, users can play mini games and complete tasks to earn more virtual currency and reach higher levels.

In our brief time with the game, we found it a little hard to use. The game is still in its early stages of development, but figuring out how to start or complete missions was less intuitive than we were expecting.

Nostalgia will undoubtedly bring throngs of users to Oregon Trail for Facebook, but it remains to be seen if the game can be addictive enough to keep users coming back.

The beauty of the original Apple II game, was that while educational, it was replayable. We fondly remember waiting patiently for our turn at the computer in second and third grade, if only to get a chance to hunt some buffalo.

Beyond Oregon Trail, The Learning Company plans to launch the Facebook version of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? on February 9. Carmen Sandiego may not have the same following as Oregon Trail, but we actually think the mechanics of the game and its structure makes it better suited for Facebook and other social platforms.

What do you think of Oregon Trail for Facebook? Are you ready to see a modernized “Zed died from Dysentery” message? Let us know.

More About: facebook games, Oregon Trail, oregon trail facebook, social games

For more Social Media coverage:


Categories: Channels, Games, News, Oregon Trail, Top Stories, facebook, facebook games, oregon trail facebook, social games
Jan 26 2011

“Oregon Trail” & “Carmen Sandiego” Games Coming to Facebook

By Adam Ostrow


The Learning Company has posted trailers for both Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego casual games that it plans to launch on Facebook in February. The games are being developed by Blue Fang Games, whose previous titles include Zoo Kingdom on Facebook and Lions Pride on iOS devices.

The trailers for the two new titles should bring back lots of memories for people of a certain age. The Oregon Trail game appears to have some obvious social twists on the iconic trek across the country (like being able to form a “wagon party” with your friends), in addition to more traditional “Trail” activities like crossing a river or hunting for buffalo.

Meanwhile, Carmen Sandiego appears to engage users in a global search for criminals, with the ability to enlist the help of friends along the way. We can imagine some other obvious features too (like leaderboards) with opportunities for virtual good tie-ins, though The Learning Company and Blue Fang haven’t revealed full details yet.

Of course, these companies are far from the first to try to profit from the combination of nostalgia and social media. There’s already an Oregon Trail game for iPhone, while an upcoming release from Rock Software is a play on the once popular Nintendo game Mike Tyson’s Punch-out.

What remains to be seen is whether such nostalgia can drive sales. After all, the biggest enthusiasts for these titles are all far beyond the age the games – which are somewhat educational in nature — were originally intended for. That said, most of us at Mashable can easily see a work day or two lost come February when Oregon Trail drops.

Video: “Oregon Trail”

Video: “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?”

More About: blue fang games, casual games, facebook, facebook games, Oregon Trail, the learning company, trending

For more Social Media coverage:


Categories: Oregon Trail, blue fang games, casual games, facebook, facebook games, gaming, the learning company, trending