this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2025
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Linux Gaming

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Linux gaming for a non-technical person? (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 2 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I'm putting together a gaming system for the kind of person who needs help if their TV is set to the wrong input. Obviously I'm committing myself to providing a certain amount of tech support no matter what, but I'm wondering if any of these modern Linux distros can provide a user experience at least on par with Windows in terms of ease of use and reliability for someone who doesn't know how to do much more than check their email and log in to Steam.

So far, I've looked at Bazzite, Cachy, Nobara, and PopOS based on what I commonly see recommended here. I'm leaning toward Bazzite based on its stated goal of being friendly to Linux newcomers, and the quality and amount of available documentation. Are there any other distros I've missed, or other considerations that might sway my preference?

I'd also like to hear about your subjective experiences with Linux gaming:

  1. What distro are you using for gaming?
  2. How long have you used it?
  3. How often have you had issues that require Linux knowledge and/or searching the web to solve?
  4. Have you had any other minor/annoying complaints?
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[–] HakunaHafada 6 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I'll second Linux Mint Cinnamon. My understanding is it is designed to look/function as close to Windows as possible to help people transition away from Windows.

It was my first Linux distro migrating from Windows, and overall it's been a fairly decent transition.

  1. Linux Mint Cinnamon
  2. About 2, maybe 3 years. Time's a bit fuzzy.
  3. There was some, I'll leave some tips below.
  4. Nothing specific.

-Check out Protondb.com. It's a website where you can search for games to see their compatibility rating with Linux OSes, along with any tinkering/troubleshooting tips other users have done.

-Once you install Steam, go to the Settings menu, select Compatibility, and select an option for "Default compatibility tool". This global setting means you would not have specifically select a Proton version for each game you play.

-I found that sometimes Steam would not launch from the toolbar. I have no issues launching it from the terminal window (literally launch Terminal, type the word 'steam', and hit Enter)

[–] [email protected] -1 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

I totally understand why, but I dislike this trend of recommending Mint to newcomers. Cinnamon is very limited.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago

I'm not actually sure I understand it. What about Mint is easier or more user friendly than say, a Fedora spin?

And if having that decanonicalized Ubuntu base is important, then why not install Tuxedo OS instead? Plasma is by far the most Windows-like DE in my experience, and it is more developed and featureful. Cinnamon, as I understand it, is still stuck in X11 land, which is less secure, and only in maintenance mode.

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