CDC posts Oregon Trail-like video game for public health

Remember that old computer game Oregon Trail? Well, some of us do, and now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has posted a public health iteration wherein players try not to catch the flu. It’s called Pandemic Trail and I tried it out for a bit of health IT fun. After the stage is set that you’re in Philadelphia during the 1918 influenza pandemic, the player chooses one of three avatars: a letter carrier, farmer or soldier. I picked farmer. In that role, I loaded up a wagon and headed to the farmers market to sell my harvest. But, not surprisingly, things don’t quite go as planned. I won’t spoil the fun, other than to reveal that I didn’t make it through the first time. Rather, I contracted flu germs and perished quickly. Modern user experience gurus might say that makes the game more engaging, if not downright sticky – or perhaps not.