Older Games

I have some older games which I would like to play under Windows XP. In windows 95 & 98, there were dos icons you could put on the desktop which managed memory so that you could play them. Is there something like that in XP? It seems to install them but I never see any text so I really don't know what happens. All I get is a black screen. I was trying to install Goblins but I have a lot of old games saved up for when I retired. I stockpiled games and craft supplies because I knew I wouldn't have as much money to spend on non-essentials. Thank You for your time.
Cat Coberly

 

First thing I'd try is putting a shortcut to a game on the desktop. Then in that shortcut, select compatibility mode and set it for Win95. There are several other settings on the same screen you can play with.

If that doesn't work, you will have to play around with the environment settings on your PC based on specifics for a particular game. Unless you have the documentation for them, this may be tough to find though.