Running Windows-only GOG DOS games on Apple Silicon via DOSBox for Mac

A walkthrough for getting GOG’s Windows-only DOS classics like Heroes of Might & Magic II and Settlers II running natively on M-series Macs, sidestepping the slow x64 virtualization that BootCamp and VirtualBox required on Intel hardware. The trick is that GOG bundles DOS games with DOSBox under the hood, so the Windows wrapper can be discarded and the game files pointed at the native macOS DOSBox build instead.

The procedure requires a one-time install on a Windows machine to extract the game files, which are then copied to the Mac. A custom DOSBox .conf script handles mounting the game directory and the CD image, while a small zsh .command file launches DOSBox with the right configuration on a double-click. The author notes macOS is warning that DOSBox for Mac will eventually stop working, but DOSBox-X is an actively maintained alternative, and standard DOSBox options like scalers and windowed output remain available for tuning the experience.