The Yukon Trail

About The Yukon Trail

The game starts in Seattle in August 1897 (right before the actual Klondike Gold Rush). The player must first choose one out of four partners. Each partner has unique advantages over the others. Next the player purchases two tickets for a ship to Skagway or Dyea. Tickets are more expensive for ships that depart immediately, and less expensive for those departing later. The player can buy equipment, food and other items, or they can wait until they get to Alaska. The player's partner can offer their advice on making purchases, but their advice is sometimes unwise. Upon reaching Skagway or Dyea, the player can purchase any supplies, gamble or gather information. Gambling takes the form of a War card game or a shell game, but can be unfair and lead to losses for the most part. Gambling can be disabled in the settings.

When starting the journey the player can choose the longer and easier White Pass Trail or the shorter but more difficult Chilkoot Trail. The player can also hire packers in the two cities that would haul their supplies to the respective routes. The packers are very expensive, so they usually are out of reach for the average player.

The Yukon Trail gives players plenty of opportunities to think about the situation, giving many options and many possible consequences for each event, thus building problem-solving skills. The initial choice players make on the trail, which can be subsequently changed, is the load personally carried. A smaller load results in the ground moved each day to become shorter (as some of the supplies have to be left behind and then returned for). Moreover, the trail becomes much more difficult to travel when encroaching upon the winter months, but a larger load will result in a higher probability of the player or partner being injured.