Here’s an updated guide (December 2022) to running all categories on The Oregon Trail (DOS) leaderboards! Much of this information is ripped straight from Doowi’s previous guide. The Death% guide is copied from lemoncoughdrop's recent guide, but I wanted to compile all runs into one document. A quick note, I refer to the "main menu" as the menu with "Travel the trail", etc., whereas the "game menu" is where you can adjust your pace, food rations, attempt to trade, etc. Thanks for reading! -Surdo

HOW TO START:

1. FOR ANY% RUNS: Either use Archive.org's online emulator (https://archive.org/details/msdos_Oregon_Trail_The_1990) or download a copy of DOSBox (https://www.dosbox.com/) and grab a copy of the game (https://www.myabandonware.com/game/the-oregon-trail-2ku or similar). NOTE: For strategies that we use in the Any% categories, I recommend Archive.org’s emulator, as the version is earlier (2.0) and makes saving the game much easier (and faster). FOR DEATH% RUNS: I recommend using Version 2.1, like the one from MyAbandonWare (linked previously). This version has a quirk that we exploit for Death% ;) You can check the version on the opening MECC splash screen after DOSBox boots up. The version number is near the bottom of the screen.
2. Download any “speedrun split” application (like LiveSplit) for timing/splits and a screen recording application (like OBS) for video recording/streaming. PLEASE make sure that we can see the clock AND the full game screen!

GENERAL TIPS:

1. The run is EXTREMELY RNG-based. Currently, there exists little tech to remediate bad RNG. Restarting runs will be your friend. You can press "escape" to exit to the main menu faster than it takes to refresh the webpage.
2. Clear any existing saved games/gravestones beforehand.

ANY% INTRO:

1. Travel the trail (1), and choose your job depending on which category you are running.
2. Name your first party member "y", so you will already be able to buffer a "y" for "Are you sure with these names" later. You can fill in the rest of the names with stock names by pressing an extra "enter" after entering the wagon leader’s name.
3. Try to leave in April, May, or June. March will freeze you alive, and July will cause too much heat for adequate grass. Most runners leave in April, but May or June could be faster with more testing.
4. A perfect run will not rely on spare parts, clothing, or bullets. Hopefully, you will find spare parts in an abandoned wagon. All these quantities (except for Banker) aren’t set in stone, and you can substitute more oxen for less food or vice versa. Banker: 9 yoke of oxen, 2000 pounds of food Carpenter: 8 yoke of oxen, 2000 pounds of food Farmer: 4 yoke of oxen, 1000 pounds of food
5. Set your pace (4) to grueling (3) in the game menu.

ANY% GAMEPLAY:

1. Frequently, pop-up messages will occur. You will need to hit or hold space to close these. It will be in your best interest to consistently be pressing/holding space when not menuing. NOTE: Holding space when you’re getting close to a landmark can cause your inputs to fail until all the buffered spaces are “used up.” I recommend spamming space when you get close as opposed to holding it.
2. Always try to repair broken parts. You lose nothing by trying, especially if you have no spares.
3. Try to buffer your inputs for menus. Certain menus will only allow certain characters to be entered (some will be numeric only, some alphabet, etc.) You can use this to your advantage by mashing another key before the menu pops up. Then, a well-timed ENTER will close the menu option on the first frame, saving maximum time. Buffering an enter after an "n" (or buffering both) also works.

RIVER SKIP A new strategy discovered by Surdo (that’s me!) on December 7, 2021, allows us to skip all 4 rivers in Any% by saving and loading.

1. When you get to a river, say “n” when asked to look around.
2. In the first screen, where it tells you the width and depth of the river, press escape twice. This brings up the “save” prompt.
3. Say “y” to saving and press space. This brings you back to the main menu.
4. Press “1” to travel the trail and say “y” to continue a saved game. This will bring you to a view of whichever river you just skipped.
5. Mash space to get out of 2 menus and bring you back to the game menu. Press “1” to continue on the trail and congratulations! You’ve just skipped a river!
6. Do this for all 4 rivers (Kansas, Blue, Green, and Snake).

DEATH% GUIDE:

1. Travel the trail (1), and choose any job, it doesn’t matter here.
2. Name your first party member "y", so you will already be able to buffer a "y" for "Are you sure with these names" later. You can fill in the rest of the names with stock names by pressing an extra "enter" after entering the wagon leader’s name.
3. Leave in any month, it doesn’t matter here. I have a superstition that the “extreme months” (March and July) kill people faster, but I have no significant evidence to prove that this is faster.
4. Get 1 yoke of oxen and exit the shop.
5. When you get in the game menu, press 1. "Continue the trail", and wait until the wagon has started moving OR the day ticks over. Entering the game menu before this will cause the options to stay as they were at Independence. Once you're in the menu, press spam 8. "Hunt for food." It should say "You cannot go hunting because you have no bullets." Spam 8, spacebar, and enter all at the same time. Attempting to hunt with no bullets skips the day without moving our wagon, and since we have no food, our party's health will diminish rapidly.
6. As you keep doing this, you will get pop-ups saying that people are getting sick and dying. Once the gravestone pops up, you have successfully killed everyone! Congratulations, you murderer!

This community is fantastic, and all of us are willing to help one another. If you have difficulty with something, want to try out a new strategy, or just want to talk with fellow runners, consider joining our Discord! https://discord.com/invite/znREwX8nM5. Thanks for reading, and happy trails! -Surdo