The Oregon Trail
Strategy/Educational
MECC
Apple II
1985
Though this game was originally developed in 1971 for the HP 2100, the definitive version that we are all familiar with was popularized in 1985.
The Oregon Trail is one of the most well-known educational games ever made. As a settler from 1848, you took your family via covered wagon from Independence, Missouri to Oregon. Through this strategic historical simulation, you had to hunt and trade over the long trip, while hoping to not succumb to disease, snake bite, river shenanigans, starvation, or any of the other horrible things that could happen to settlers of the era. Though, as a kid, many of the lessons of the game frequently went over their heads, one thing that almost every player learned was that trying to ford a river usually met with failure, and hunting buffalo, while easy, resulted in more meat than usable and always resulted in no buffalo when you critically needed them in the late game.
The game has an immense legacy, spawning ports on many modern systems, such as the 3DS and Wii, historical spinoffs such as the Yukon Trail and Amazon Trail, and even a zombie apocalypse parody - The Organ Trail. This game still remains culturally significant and should be something every young gamer plays.
Please consider this game as an inductee to the Video Game Hall Of Fame.