Yes kind of. Both use wine. Basically wine is not like a vm where you simulate the whole windows os but rather the libraries your program needs to run translated to linux.
For playonlinux here is a list: https://www.playonlinux.com/en/supported_apps-1-0.html
If you’re new to linux and want to stay safe I have a couple of tips:
Never run commands you don’t understand. Research what they are doing before you run them. Try to become used to doing everything from the commandline. It may be daunting at first, but it helps understanding what the GUIs do and hiw to fix things if they break.
Use the packagemanagement of your distribution where possible. For example in ubuntu use the “apt” command to install software from the commandline or the software center to install them from the GUI. I’d avoid .deb files from random internet sites as installing them is the equivalent of installing random .exe-s on Windows. It could be safe but you don’t really know for sure. tar.gz-files are the compressed source code of the application so while technically more transparent as a newbie i’d still avoid them.
Choose a widely used distro. Especially as a newbie it can be difficult do assess what’s wrong. It helps if there are a lot of other new users googling the same problem.
To start I’d suggest Ubuntu on a Virtualbox-VM. Make frequent snapshots so you don’t have to reinstall your whole system if you break something.
For most older windows only offline games someone usually has already created a bottle or made an installer on playonlinux. With online games anticheat might act up (I tried valorant and LoL, both didn’t work)
If you’re loking for a DAW on linux i can recommend Ardour.
Unfortunately some hardware sellers (like canon, ugh) have no linux support. So now whenever I buy something new I research their support before I buy any products.
I was an intermediate user for a long time, but what helped me get more into it was following the archlinux installation guide. Really showed me how the system is build “under the hood”. Like what the difference between a compositor and a window manager is and stuff like that.
Next, if I find the time, I plan to go the gentoo/lfs route, wich is basically building the car from it’s parts.
No wine is a dependency, it’s installed automatically. Yes, they don’t include any game files. They would probably get in trouble with copyright if they did. The setup was something like this, iirc: 1.Install POL 2.Insert the disk and mount it/Download your game from your seller(eg. GOG.com) 3. Search for the game in the POL UI 4. Start the installer and select the installation exe