When comparing PlayOnLinux vs VMWare player, the Slant community recommends PlayOnLinux for most people. In the question“What are the best tools for running Windows games on Linux?” PlayOnLinux is ranked 1st while VMWare player is ranked 5th. The most important reason people chose PlayOnLinux is:
PlayOnLinux features a really easy to use interface.
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Pros
Pro Easy to use
PlayOnLinux features a really easy to use interface.
Pro 3D graphic support
Not sure about games but WebGL works ok.
Pro Works well and fast with Windows host and Linux guest
Pro Microsoft VM support
Also supports Microsoft Virtual Server virtual machines or Microsoft Virtual PC virtual machines.
Pro User friendly
Somewhat more user friendly than VirtualBox.
Cons
Con Wine favors some hardware over others
Tends to work better with nVidia graphics on an Intel CPU, even when an AMD CPU or graphics chip would normally perform better than the given equivalent part from Intel/nVidia
Con Requires Wine
PlayOnLinux is just a wrapper around Wine, this means that besides PlayOnLinux, you will also have to install Wine.
Con Nowhere near native level performance
Some games and programs flat out just don't work or aren't compatible, and most games take a performance hit over running it native on Windows
Con Not open source
Which means having to install their intrusive tools manually on guest linux vms.