This explains how to easily and quickly install and play retro DOS games through DOSbox.
Like most geeky guys in their twenties, I was a big fan of DOS games growing up. Games such as Doom2, Commander Keen and Transport Tycoon were simply fantastic and highly addictive. A couple of years ago I decided to start playing these games again and, after a little of bit of research, found DOSbox. DOSbox is a DOS simulator, allowing you to run DOS in a Windows computer. More importantly, this means you can play old DOS games on your modern computer!
For newbie’s this can be a little bit awkward to start with. So, in this post, I want to explain both how to install DOSbox, but also, more importantly, how to run games through it.
Dosbox: Keen4
Installing DOSbox
Firstly, you’re going to need to install DOSbox. This can be done by installing the official download version for free. Run the file, follow the instructions, and DOSbox is installed.
Downloading DOS Games to Play
Next, you need to install some old school DOS games. There are plenty of websites that store these games, with DOS Games Archive, Abandonia, and DOS Games probably being the best. If you can’t find you’re game there, just Google it.
Once you’ve found your DOS game, download the file and place it in a new folder on your C drive. For the sake of this article, lets say you call the new folder “Games” and the new game is Doom2 in a folder called “Doom2″.
Dosbox: Doom2
Loading the Game in DOSbox
Right time to play the game. Run the DOSbox software. Now type in the following:
Mount c c:/Games <Return>
c: <Return>
cd Doom2 <Return>
Doom2 <Return>
You should now have a working Doom2 to play.
You can download as many games as you want. In the future, you just need to replace “Doom2″ with the title of the other game you’ve downloaded in the text above. If you have any questions on this, feel free to ask me on the comments section below.