🎮 Setup Wine on Arch/Manjaro to Play Classic Windows XP-Era Games

Many legendary PC games from the early 2000s were never officially ported to Linux, but thanks to Wine, you can bring them back to life on modern distributions like Arch and Manjaro.

This guide walks you through how to run Windows XP-era games (not DOS games) using Wine on Arch-based systems, with practical setup steps, useful tips, and troubleshooting strategies.

🧰 Why Wine? Why Not DOSBox?

Wine (short for "Wine Is Not an Emulator") allows you to run native Windows applications on Linux. If you're playing games from the Windows 98/ME/XP era, Wine is the go-to choice.

🛑 Note: DOSBox is great for DOS games, but won't work for later Windows-only titles.

🗂️ Installation: Get the Basics Ready

1. Install Wine

Open a terminal and install Wine:

sudo pacman -S wine

For better compatibility, you can install Wine Staging (includes patches and experimental fixes):

sudo pacman -S wine-staging

2. Install Winetricks

Winetricks is a helper script that simplifies the installation of required Windows DLLs and components.

sudo pacman -S winetricks

🏗️ Set Up a 32-Bit Wine Prefix (Recommended for Old Games)

Many older games expect a 32-bit Windows environment.

WINEPREFIX=~/wineprefix32 WINEARCH=win32 winecfg

This creates a new Wine "prefix" (think of it as a sandboxed virtual Windows drive).
The Wine configuration dialog will open — set Windows version to Windows XP.

🧩 Install Required Dependencies (DirectX, VC++ Redists, .NET)

Using Winetricks:

WINEPREFIX=~/wineprefix32 winetricks

From the menu:

Choose Select the default wineprefix
Choose Install a Windows DLL or component
Install components like:
- d3dx9 / directx9 – for older DirectX support
- vcrun6, vcrun2005, vcrun2008 – common VC++ redistributables
- .NET 2.0 or .NET 3.5 – if needed

Check the WineHQ AppDB for your specific game to see what's recommended.

🕹️ Running Your Game Installer or EXE

Let's say you downloaded a game setup like:

setup_deadlock_ii_shrine_wars_1.20_hotfix_(40447).exe

Step-by-Step:

Navigate to the download location:

cd ~/Downloads

Run the installer with Wine:

WINEPREFIX=~/wineprefix32 wine setup_deadlock_ii_shrine_wars_1.20_hotfix_(40447).exe

💡 Use quotes or escape parentheses if needed:

wine "setup_deadlock_ii_shrine_wars_1.20_hotfix_(40447).exe"

🪛 Debugging & Troubleshooting

Check Logs

If your game crashes or doesn’t launch:

WINEDEBUG=+all WINEPREFIX=~/wineprefix32 wine game.exe &> wine.log

Then inspect wine.log for error messages like:

Missing DLLs
Crashes related to wineusb.sys or msvcrt.dll
DirectX or graphics-related errors

Common Fixes

✅ Install common controls (missing `Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls`):

WINEPREFIX=~/wineprefix32 winetricks comctl32

✅ Make EXE executable (if needed):

chmod +x game.exe

✅ Run in virtual desktop (helps with fullscreen issues):

WINEPREFIX=~/wineprefix32 winecfg

Go to the Graphics tab
Check Emulate a virtual desktop (e.g. 1024x768)

🧠 Tips & Best Practices

1. Use Separate Prefixes for Different Games

If two games require different libraries or Windows versions:

WINEPREFIX=~/wineprefix_game1 WINEARCH=win32 winecfg
WINEPREFIX=~/wineprefix_game2 WINEARCH=win32 winecfg

Each prefix is an isolated environment.

2. Backup Working Prefixes

Once you get a game working, back it up:

tar -czvf wineprefix32_backup.tar.gz ~/wineprefix32

3. Use the Wine AppDB

Before installing anything, search for the game at: 👉 https://appdb.winehq.org

You'll often find:

User-submitted instructions
Specific DLLs or workarounds
Gold or Platinum ratings for compatibility

4. Graphics Drivers

Ensure you're using the correct 32-bit libraries for your GPU:

NVIDIA:

sudo pacman -S nvidia lib32-nvidia-utils

AMD:

sudo pacman -S mesa lib32-mesa

🤔 What About `winecfg` — Should It Stay Open?

No — you only need to run winecfg once to configure the prefix. Once you save settings (like XP mode or virtual desktop), you can close the GUI. Your configuration stays stored in the prefix.

✅ Final Checklist: Running Your Game

# Setup prefix (once)
WINEPREFIX=~/wineprefix32 WINEARCH=win32 winecfg

# Install dependencies
WINEPREFIX=~/wineprefix32 winetricks comctl32 directx9 vcrun6

# Run your installer
cd ~/Downloads
WINEPREFIX=~/wineprefix32 wine "setup_deadlock_ii_shrine_wars_1.20_hotfix_(40447).exe"

# Launch the game later
WINEPREFIX=~/wineprefix32 wine ~/.wineprefix32/drive_c/Program\ Files/GameFolder/game.exe

🏁 Conclusion

Running old XP-era games on Arch or Manjaro is absolutely doable and often runs surprisingly well with Wine — especially when combined with Winetricks and a bit of care setting up prefixes.

Some games may require trial and error, but the payoff of revisiting classics like Deadlock II, Thief, Age of Empires, or Alpha Centauri is well worth it.

Happy gaming!

basperheim/setup-wine-linux-to-play-win-games.md