You wake to frost on the canvas and one ox already dead.
The river is higher than the map said. The ferryman wants double.
Your youngest is coughing blood and the nearest doctor is six days behind you.
Questions, answered.
Is it based on real history?+
Yes — real routes, real hardships, real dates. But every playthrough branches into fiction the moment you make your first call.
Can my whole party die?+
Absolutely. Dysentery, exposure, a bad river crossing, a worse decision. Permadeath is on the table.
How long is a run?+
A short crossing takes 20–30 minutes. A full trail run — Missouri to the Willamette — can stretch across several sittings. Your progress saves automatically.
Can I hunt, trade, and resupply?+
Yes. Forts, trading posts, and passing wagons all show up. What you carry, what you spend, and what you shoot back matter for the rest of the trip.
Do the seasons and weather actually matter?+
They're the whole game. Leave too late and the passes close. Ford in spring melt and you lose the oxen. The calendar is an antagonist.
Can I play as someone other than a settler?+
Yes — guide, scout, army deserter, freedwoman heading west, Highland exile. The trail treats each one differently.