I have several games that I love & want to know if they will run correctly (or at all) on Linux.

Dreamfall
Oblivion
Sims
Gothic 3

Also in the future is there any way to tell (before I buy) if a game is compatable?

You'd want to get a copy of Cedega and check their database.

Note that by default, no windows software ever runs on Linux, as it's a different operating system. Projects like Cedega can help to provide the hooks and calls that the windows programs want to get some working. Never any guarentee though.

Cedega is based on Wine, which is freely available, and although they've made a few contributions to the open source code, Cedega doesn't seem to offer massive improvements in compatibility range, and I've seen debate as to whether the project will even live for much longer. Others will know better than me, but for the immediate present, check your games against Wine's application database which is here. If there are significant problems with getting a game to run using Wine then it's doubtful to my mind that you'll get any more joy from Cedega (again, correct me if I'm wrong, please).

The alternative for running Windows games whilst being booted into a Linux OS is to use a Virtual Machine - there's tons of information out there about how to go about that. The other solution is to dual boot and boot into Windows to play your games. Both solutions of course require a copy of Windows.

While this is a viable solution, keep in mind that because you're in essence running an OS on top of another OS, performance (more than likely) will suffer, simply because a VM is given limited processor time, and programs running in the VM are given even less processor time (because they are given a slice of the virtual processor time, which in turn is a "slice of a slice" of the physical processor time).

In other words, don't expect any big, 3D accelerated games to perform nearly as well under a VM as they would natively (or maybe under Wine/Cedega if they work).

I think your best bet is to dual-boot Windows and Linux, to be honest. Keep Windows around for those things that have no easy fix on Linux, and use Wine or it's related projects while on Linux to get working what you can.

That's what I've done (kept windows for things like that).

Wine is a M$ Windows Compatibility layer that allows you to run some Windows apps. (NOT ALL) Some may work flawlessly some may run like trash. Check on WINE HQ to see if whatever you wanna play is compatible.

The short answer: maybe.

The longer answer: There are three related programs around for running Windows software on Linux.

Wine is free, so try that first. Crossover Games and Cedega cost money. All have online compatibility lists, so look up your games in them. For Wine you may need to get a new version than what's in your distro's standard repos, especially if you're running a 'conservative' distro (like Debian, Slackware, or RHEL) or not running the latest version.

Also, make sure you have 3d acceleration enabled if possible. (Most nVidia and ATI cards can be made to work alright, but a few have issues).

I very-frankly suggest that "a game that you love" is reason enough to own and to retain ... a Windows-XP computer.

This is an example of what's known in the trade as "a killer app." It is an application that is worth buying hardware for, and for setting-up that hardware "just to run that app."

Of course, these days you can always use a virtual machine (if you know how and if you are so inclined).

But, to me at least, the bottom line is: "if you want to run this game, then by all means run it in the environment specified by its manufacturer."

P.S.: Sure, you can "dual boot," but to be quite honest with you, I think that this is much more pain-in-the- than it could ever be worth. Hardware is cheap now. You can buy a cast-off computer for a donation at a Goodwill store.

Hello. I also love The Sims (original version), so I am trying to install it using Wine right now. (I was going to buy a Cedega membership, but then decided to try Wine first.)

The Sims does not appear to work. When the installer finished with CD #1, it requested #2. I inserted #2, but it kept saying "that does not appear to be the correct CD."

Good for you. Why did you post this? you already have your own thread asking this, and you're not offering any advice to the OP. Please don't make duplicate posts.

What duplicate posts? I thought I would let him know The Sims doesn't work with Wine. It's a related but different issue to me, since I decided to try The Sims in Wine only after I found that Cedega costs money. (I have a feeling I tried to do this once before and then forgot about it, because the CD error seemed familiar.) And good for you, too.

No, you said you've not personally been able to make it work. That doesn't mean it doesn't work at all.

I acknowledge that, sir, but if the second CD isn't recognized for me, why would it be recognized for anyone else; what could anyone do differently?
In case it's somehow the change in CDs in one drive that this Wine execution of The Sims is getting hung up on, I plan to try it again with my second CD drive hooked up, hoping the program will notice that both CDs are available on the system at once; but I don't expect it to work.

OK, that's good, but that's for your thread, not this one.