Just tossing this out there, if your son hasn't seen it yet, show him Portal. I showed it to my son when he was starting to get into computers and its still one of his favorites in college.

I don't know if this still holds but, my experience is that minecraft works arguably better on linux

Switch over to Luanti instead of Minecraft😉

You can show him the wonders of 3rd party FOSS linux minecraft launchers like polymc.

You can also be a good parent and not introduce him to a modded gaming addiction.

This is like the trolley prolem all over again.

the only computer user?!

My son was convinced to use Linux by wobbly windows.

Although he does have a second SSD now with Windows to be able to play the big popular multiplayer game of the day with his friends. But they are back on Minecraft often enough.

my son only eats gushers gum

we have to hide his medicine in gushers gum

Just use different drives.

That's it. You are shielded.

This is a great place to check out. https://www.protondb.com/

Protondb

really the only thing that gives us trouble on linux these days are brand new AAA's where the publisher is sometimes Linux-hostile or occasionally certain E-sports

if you run a John Deere tractor or a Cricut you might have to learn Docker

My understanding is the biggest issue is kernel level anti-cheat. I've never had a game fail to play well for me, but i also don't play stuff like battlefield or destiny or FIFA or whatever.

Worst bug I've had is War Thunder having a 5-second freeze at the start of ground realistic battles. But that's just bad support for the Linux client.

Other issues I've seen the most is forcing dedicated GPU (run parameters fix, e.g. DRI_PRIME=XXX) and connectivity with indie games on steam which is usually fixed with changing proton version, ensuring dedicated gpu, etc.

In the end, Finnish Cottage Simulator runs with proton 9.4 and that's the only game you will ever need.

The biggest issue nowadays is kernel level anti cheat. For that developers have to turn on Linux support (where it won't be kernel level). You can see the status of games on that front at https://areweanticheatyet.com/.

Protondb

Is there a good way to figure out what games do and don't work on Linux beyond just playing them?

I finally bought a SteamDeck to address this. Now I just use the "SteamDeck Verified" badge on Steam.

It is worth adding that I have found Valve to be very conservative with giving out "playable" and "verified" bages. (I have had to wait for a Nintendo Switch game to get a required emergency patch more times than I have had any issue with a "SteamDeck Verified" game on SteamDeck.)

With "Playable" your mileage may vary. A large number of "SteamDeck Playable" games would be fine on Linux Desktop, but are awkward on the SteamDeck smaller screen and need a hunch of controller mapping done.

But I happily play many games on my SteamDeck that are only badged as "playable".

I guess my recommendation is what I did:

1. buy a SteamDeck
2. Try various games I care about on the SteamDeck
3. Satisfied, throw out my last copy of Windows
4. Mostly forget that desktop gaming is a thing, because I'm busy and my SteamDeck let's me play on the go and from my recliner.
5. ...?...
6. Declare this the year of the Linux Desktop Gaming to my friends.

I have multiple computers.

They're running Linux, Linux, Linux, Linux, Linux and Linux.

Have multiple computers

Must be nice..

Computers aren't super expensive.

They are if you want to play any games from the last decade on them. Hell, a top of the line graphics card alone costs as much as a decent used car!

I have the most diverse mix of os ever