Linux games on mac

Playing Old DOS Games on macOS with DOSBox

In the ancient days of Windows versions with 9s in the name, DOS was the dominant platform for early PC gaming. Doom, Quake, Zork, and hundreds of other games took the primitive features of the operating system and created games that are fun and playable even by today’s standards. While macOS is not well known for gaming, you can still play DOS games on your Mac. Learn how to play a DOS game on macOS with DOSBox, the leading DOS emulator on any platform.

Note: for Windows and Linux users, these are instructions are for playing old DOS games on Windows and Linux.

Why DOSBox?

You might wonder why we chose DOSBox when there are other DOS emulators available to play games on macOS. For instance, there’s also DOSBox-X, which is a fork of the DOSBox project. While you do have other options, DOSBox stands out from the rest for several reasons:

• It’s incredibly easy to set up. Unlike some emulators, you don’t need to deal with creating a virtual hard drive, configuring hardware settings, etc.
• It runs easily on multiple platforms. Just moved from Windows to Mac? It’s not a problem. You can still run DOSBox and your favorite DOS-based games.
• It’s free, and that’s always a plus.
• It runs older games exactly as they should be. Instead of just emulating a game to run on newer systems, DOSBox emulates the original environment so the game runs as smoothly as it did originally. Even older hardware is emulated to prevent issues. If you’re looking for the most authentic experience possible without digging up an old IBM-compatible computer, this is it.

With all that in mind, it makes sense that you’d want to start with DOSBox to play your favorite DOS games on macOS.

Downloading and Installing DOSBox

1. Download DOSBox from the developer’s website. Make sure to select the correct “Mac OS X” version. If you’re not sure what to download, then download DOSBox for macOS from Sourceforge.

2. Mount the downloaded DMG in Finder.

3. Copy “DOSBox.app” into your desired directory, typically the Applications folder, but DOSBox can be run from any folder. You do not need to copy the text files on the DMG.

DOSBox Frontends

You can download a so-called “frontend” for DOSBox on the same page. In this context, a frontend is an application that runs DOSBox’s emulation code but wraps the emulation in a container application.

Normally, the container application extends functionality or simplifies the process of loading and saving games. While it hasn’t been updated since 2016 and won’t work on Catalina and newer version of macOS, Boxer is the best-known macOS front-end for DOSBox. It offers library support and streamlined loading and playing: just drag and drop the game onto the app’s icon, and you’re ready to rock.

Since Apple dropped support for 32-bit applications, you’ll need a 64-bit front-end to be compatible with Catalina and Big Sur. The developers for Boxer are no longer supporting it. However, thec0de.com has created a 64-bit version that’s supposed to be compatible. Some users have noticed frame rate issues. Try this if you need a front-end, but it may not work perfectly.

For this guide, we describe how to use the standalone version of DOSBox for macOS.

Running DOSBox and Playing Games with DOSBox

Double-click on the DOSBox icon to open a new DOS session. This will open a console window showing a text-only interface.

If you’re completely unfamiliar with DOS, this puzzling interface is called the DOS prompt. You run commands by typing their names and targets and pressing Enter rather than using your mouse to interact with graphical interfaces.

This is an old style of using your computer and can take some adjustment for contemporary users. To perform actions, users assemble instructions from a coded language of commands. Fortunately, running games only requires a couple commands.

Basic DOS Commands

As we navigate, it will be helpful to remember these critical DOS commands. Also, remember that DOS filenames can only be eight characters long. For organization, it’s easiest to abbreviate the names of your DOS games to eight characters or less.

• cd directory : change directory to the specified directory or path.
• cls : clear the screen.
• dir : display contents of the current directory.
• help command : show help text for the specified command.
• type textfile : show the contents of a text file.
• start filename : open the specified application in a new window. Also works with directories.

Mounting Directories and Launching Games in DOSBox

Before you can load up a game, you’ll need to “mount” the directory in DOSBox. This links the mounted folder to the C: drive in DOS, allowing you to load files from that directory into DOSBox. C: is the location of the main hard drive in DOS, so this folder will be treated as your primary storage by the emulator.

1. Use this command to mount directories in DOSBox:

2. Switch to the C: drive by typing its name.

3. View the contents of the C: drive:

4. Navigate directories with the cd (change directory) command. Enter the folder of the game you want to play:

Launch an application by typing the name of the application and its extension. If you’re not sure what application to run, try the EXE file with the same name as the application or a file titled START.COM.

Once the game starts, the DOS prompt will disappear, and the game will take over the interface. You can now use your mouse if the game supports it.

To return to the DOS prompt, quit from within the game. You may need to choose a “quit” option from a menu – each game varies.

Automatically Mounting Directories

To shorten the process of launching games, you can set DOSBox to automatically run a mount command at startup time by editing the DOSBox configuration file.

1. Open the configuration file at “

/Library/Preferences/DOSBox 0.74-3 Preferences” in TextEdit.

The exact name of the configuration file will change depending on your version of DOSBox.

2. Scroll to the bottom of the document. Under the “[autoexec]” section, add your mount command. You can also add additional commands, with one command per line. When you’re finished, save the file.

3. The next time DOSBox is launched, the mount command will run automatically.

Popular DOSBox Compatible Games

You’ll need some games to run in DOSBox. DOSBox will allow you to play just about any DOS game, though not all games are compatible with macOS: see the complete list of DOSBox compatible games. You can download free and shareware DOS games from ClassicDOSGames and DOSGames.com. You can also check GamesNostalgia for a variety of retro games, including DOS. For premium games, try GOG, which allows you to buy many DOS games for less than $10 each.

If you’re not sure where to start to find compatible DOS games to play on macOS, try some of these popular games that are compatible with DOSBox:

• Prince of Persia (1989) – This popular platformer set a new standard for its time. Battles involve swords vs. projectiles. It’s an all-around exciting game with great animation as you race against time through dungeons and against various foes and obstacles. You can also check out the sequel, Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame.
• DOOM (1993) – When evil creatures are unleashed on Mars in a teleportation experiment, it’s up to you to save humanity. Widely seem as one of the groundbreaking computer games ever, it’s a classic that you have to play at least once.
• Wolfenstein 3D (1992) – This game introduced 3D shooters to computers worldwide. It also set the stage for the success of DOOM. How many Nazis can you take down as you make your way out of Castle Wolfenstein?
• Oregon Trail (1990) – It’s a classic survival game that’s much more difficult than it seems. Travel with a group of pioneers as you head out west and try to make the right decisions to survive and make it to your destination. There are also fun mini-games to play.
• Dangerous Dave (1990) – This was many players’ introduction to platform-style games. The premise is a simple one: recover trophies from 10 levels amongst the many obstacles and challenges that await you.

• Scorched Earth (1991) – Battle against as many as 10 other players or computers in this turn-based survival game. While the gameplay might seem simple, it’s a highly complex strategy game using tanks to wage war against others.
• Blood (1997) – This is a must-play DOS game for any horror fan, especially with classic horror movie references. It’s an exciting first-person shooter that pits you against an evil cult.
• Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (1994) – This was the first game in the Warcraft series, eventually leading to the incredibly popular World of Warcraft RPG. The real-time strategy game lets you pit your skills against a fantasy world.
• X-Com: UFO Defense (1994) – Also known as UFO Enemy Unknown, this turn-based strategy game is the first in a series that has you and your team gathering intelligence on aliens and fighting back once you realize how bad they really are.
• Wasteland (1988) – After a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and United States, all that’s left is a wasteland. Yet, mutants and raiders are closing in on those struggling to survive. It’s up to you to keep humanity safe.
• Sid Meier’s Civilization (1991) – This remains one of the most popular PC games of all time. As the name implies, you try to build and take over civilizations in this turn-based strategy game. Civilization-style board games were actually the inspiration for this game.

Wrapping Up

You don’t have to give up your favorite old-school games. All you need is a free DOSBox download, a DOS game or two, and you’re ready to play your favorite games on macOS for hours. Share your experience playing these games with us below.

Looking to upgrade to a new Mac, start with this in-depth buyer’s guide.

Crystal Crowder has spent over 15 years working in the tech industry, first as an IT technician and then as a writer. She works to help teach others how to get the most from their devices, systems, and apps. She stays on top of the latest trends and is always finding solutions to common tech problems.

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Gaming On Linux: All You Need To Know

Last updated November 9, 2020 By Abhishek Prakash 91 Comments

Can I play games on Linux?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions by users who are thinking about switching to Linux. After all, gaming on Linux is often termed as a distant possibility. At least, by some hardcore gamers using another platform to play games.

In fact, some people even wonder if they can listen to music or watch movies on Linux. Considering that, the question about playing games on Linux seem genuine.

In this article, I am going to answer most of the Linux gaming questions that a beginner may have. Some of the potential questions that I’m going to address here are:

• Is it possible to play games on Linux?
• What are the Linux games available?
• Where can you download Linux games?
• How do you get more information about gaming on Linux?

But before I do that, let me make a confession. I am not a PC gamer or rather I should say, I am not a desktop Linux gamer. I prefer to play games on my PS4 and I haven’t dived into the PC games available or even mobile games (no candy crush request sent to anyone in my friend list). This is the reason you only see a few articles in the Linux games section of It’s FOSS.

So why am I covering this topic then?

Because I have been asked questions about playing games on Linux several times and I wanted to come up with a Linux gaming guide that could answer all those questions. And remember, it’s not just gaming on Ubuntu I am talking about here. I am talking about Linux in general.

Can you play games on Linux?

Yes, you can play games on Linux and no, you cannot play ‘all the games’ in Linux.

Confused? Don’t be. What I meant here is that you can get plenty of popular games on Linux such as Counter Strike, Shadow Of Mordor , etc.

However, you should not expect a native Linux support for the latest and greatest games – which are typically available for Windows.

The reason, in my opinion, is that Linux has less than 2% of desktop market share and the numbers are demotivating enough for most game developers to avoid working on the Linux version of their games.

Not just limited to the userbase, but not all games work perfectly on Linux. But, there are workarounds (ways) to play a huge list of games and I’ll be mentioning how to do that.

If I have to categorize, I’ll divide the games on Linux into four categories:

1. Native Linux Games (games officially available for Linux)
2. Windows games in Linux (Windows games played in Linux with Wine or other software)
3. Browser Games (games that you can play online using your web browse)
4. Terminal Games (games you can play in the Linux terminal)

Let’s start with the most important one, native Linux games, first.

1. Where to find native Linux games?

Native Linux games refer to those games which are officially supported on Linux. You just have to download it and hit it to play it without any potential troubleshooting.

Of course, there are a lot of games that support Linux officially – but where do you find them?

Hence, I am going to list some of the resources which you can utilize to download Linux games.

Steam

Steam is a very popular digital video game store which offers incredible deals on games for Linux (including free games as well). So, it is an obvious source of PC games.

You can explore it to find tons of games ranging from AAA titles to Indie games.

Usually, you can easily find Steam listed in your app center or package manager. But, if you have no clue how to install and use it, refer to my guide below on installing and using Steam on Ubuntu Linux to get an idea.

GOG.com

GOG.com is yet another platform similar to Steam. Like Steam, you can browse and find hundreds of native Linux games on GOG.com, purchase the games and install them. If the games support several platforms, you can download and use them across various operating systems. Your purchased games are available for you all the time in your account. You can download them anytime you wish.

One main difference between the two is that GOG.com offers only DRM free games. Also, GOG.com is entirely web-based. Unlike Steam, you don’t get a native desktop client on Linux for GOG.com.

Portable Linux Games

Portable Linux Games is a website that offers a good collection of Linux games for 32-bit systems. You can’t run the games on a purely 64-bit system by default – however, you can try following a troubleshooting guide to make it happen.

The downloaded files have all the dependencies (at times Wine and Perl installation) and these are also platform-independent. All you need to do is to download the files and double click to install them.

It’s a great source for gamers who aren’t into the games made by big studios but just want to have a good time playing some games on Linux.

Itch.io

Looking for native Linux Indie games? if that’s the case, Itch.io is a fantastic source to find interesting games.

You can find a lot of Indie games for free and can also opt to choose a paid game.

Interestingly, you do not need to create an account to download free games. You can simply head to its page and download the file meant for Linux.

Software Repositories

You can also look into the software repositories of your own Linux distribution. There will always be some games on it.

If you are using Ubuntu, the Software Center itself has an entire section for games. The same is true for other Linux distributions such as Linux Mint etc.

2. How to play Windows games in Linux?

There’s a bunch of native Linux games out there. However, most of the popular games available aren’t available on Linux directly. In other words, the latest and greatest games do not support Linux (for the most) and are available for Windows only.

In that case, do we have a workaround to play those games on Linux? Yes, we do!

With the help of tools like Wine, Phoenicis (formerly known as PlayOnLinux), Lutris, CrossOver, and GameHub, you can play a number of popular Windows games on Linux.

Steam Play

If you’re fond of using Steam as your only source of games on Linux, you can easily try the Windows-only games using Steam Play.

Steam utilizes a compatibility layer to directly run a Windows-specific game on Linux. We do have a detailed guide on using Steam Play on Linux – I’d recommend you to explore that to get started with it.

Wine is a compatibility layer that is capable of running Windows applications in systems like Linux, BSD and OS X. With the help of Wine, you can install and use a number of Windows applications in Linux.

Installing Wine in Ubuntu or any other Linux is easy as it is available in most Linux distributions’ repository. There is a huge database of applications and games supported by Wine that you can browse.

CrossOver

CrossOver is an improved version of Wine that brings professional and technical support to Wine. But unlike Wine, CrossOver is not free. You’ll have to purchase the yearly license for it.

The good thing about CrossOver is that every purchase contributes to Wine developers and that in fact boosts the development of Wine to support more Windows games and applications. If you can afford about $10 a year, you should buy CrossOver for the support they provide.

GameHub

We already have a separate article on how to use GameHub on Linux.

But, to give you a heads up, GameHub lets you manage and play games from multiple sources that include Steam, GOG, and Humble Bundle.

Lutris Gaming

Lutris is something similar to GameHub but supports a wide range of sources that include Origin, Uplay, Epic Games Launcher, and several others.

It makes it easy for you to play Windows-only games on Linux. And, it is a quite popular tool used by many users. You can also check the official list of games it potentially supports before trying it out.

Phoenicis PlayOnLinux

PlayOnLinux too is based on Wine but implemented differently. It has a different interface and slightly easier to use than Wine. Like Wine, PlayOnLinux too is free to use.

It may not be the best choice among the others mentioned but you can browse the applications and games supported by PlayOnLinux on its database to decide for yourself.

3. Browser Games

Needless to say that there are tons of browser-based games that are available to play in any operating system, be it Windows or Linux or Mac OS X. Most of the addictive mobile games, such as GoodGame Empire, also have their web browser counterparts.

Apart from that, thanks to Google Chrome Web Store, you can play some more games in Linux. These Chrome games are installed like a standalone app and they can be accessed from the application menu of your Linux OS. Some of these Chrome games are playable offline as well.

4. Terminal Games

The added advantage of using Linux is that you can use the command line terminal to play games as well.

I know that it’s not the best way to play games but at times, it’s fun to play games like Snake or 2048 in the terminal.

To help you out, we have two separate lists of top command-line games and best ASCII games which are pretty easy to install.

How to stay updated about Linux games?

Now that you know where to find the games and how to use them on Linux, the next question is – how to stay updated about new games on Linux?

Of course, we will try to cover major game releases for Linux – however, we at It’s FOSS aren’t completely focused on gaming (as of yet).

And for that, I advise you to follow these blogs that provide you with the latest happenings of the Linux gaming world:

• Gaming on Linux: I won’t be wrong if I call it the best Linux gaming news portal. You get all the latest rumblings and news about Linux games. Frequently updated, Gaming on Linux has dedicated fan following which makes it a nice community of Linux game lovers.
• Free Gamer: A blog focusing on free and open source games.
• Linux Game News: A blog that updates on various Linux games.

Wrapping Up

I think that’s pretty much what you need to know to get started with gaming on Linux. There are plenty of free Linux games that you can try at the moment.

There’s also a very useful migration guide by the subreddit r/linux_gaming that can help you kickstart your gaming journey on Linux.

It’s time for you to add your inputs. Do you play games on your Linux desktop? What are your favorites? What blogs do you follow to stay updated on the latest Linux games? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Like what you read? Please share it with others.

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