Running Windows games on Mac or Linux

Some older Nifflas games are only available for Windows, but may be run on Mac OS X or Linux via one of the following methods:
 * A Virtual Machine suite like Parallels or VMware. Although this provides the most compatibility it is also the most cumbersome, most resource-intensive and the most expensive method: It requires you to have a copy of Windows and set aside significant disk space for an entire Windows installation. While playing games it needs to emulate an entire virtual computer as well as the whole Windows operating system, taking up significant RAM and computing resources.
 * An API Compatibility Layer like CrossOver. This is based on Wine and does not require you to own a copy of Windows. Although you may still need to purchase CrossOver itself, this is a very convenient method of playing Windows games in OS X and Linux:
 * It lets you run Windows-native .exe applications and games directly within OS X.
 * It doesn't need to emulate a virtual machine or OS: It just intercepts Windows API calls and translates them to native OS X calls on-the-go, effectivley converting Windows apps into OS X apps. In some cases this can even offer better performance than running those games on Windows itself!
 * Since it does not require a Windows installation, it only uses the disk space needed for the games themselves, as well as any libraries they need (like DirectX.)
 * PlayOnMac appears to be free. Untested. Requires XQuartz.
 * Compile and configure Wine yourself. This method is completely free but obviously requires the most work to get it working.