Yes, you can.

You make a specific .conf file for the game with the correct autoexec entries near the end. And then make a DOSBox shortcut that loads the conf file.

Or use a frontend like DBGL or D.O.G. to create this for you.

Erik.

A 4 y/o cousin may be overcharged w/using frontends?

Here is a ms dos guide that gives you the commands you need to know. Dosbox is a bit more confusing though so this is only for those who have ms dos and don't know how to use it.
Common floppy drives
a a:/ Is the most common floppy drive
b b:/ Another common floppy drive
Common hard drives
c c:/ common hard drive
d d:/ Another common hard drive
common Cd drives. Many older computers don't have cd drives
d d:/ common cd drive
e e:/ commonly seen cd drive
starting programs
I want to start the shareware doom so i would type
c c:/doom or if your hard drive is d then d d:/doom
What if their is a folder called dooms inside the doom folder and doom is in the dooms folder and i just typed c c:/doom or d d:/doom
Type cd dooms
I am still not playing doom what do i do. type in doom or setup
commands that you need to know
mk dir
make directory
clr dir
clear directory
dir
view files in folder
further running programs
I have a floppy game called wheel of fortune what do i do
Well type a a: and with the help i gave you try to find a setup or install. I do not have my copy of my dos floppy game wheel of fortune with me right now to test it out but if you follow my instructions you should be able to get it running.
I have a dos cd rom game called The need for speed
type in d d:/ then type in install. Unfortunately my copy has a corrupted file so it does not run.

That was just a good ms dos guide.

Am I the only one who has a big "WTF?" floating above his head right now?

Hehe don't think about it too long 😉

yup, 😕 ,

I think abyss did something wrong when posting.

Erik.

I'm sure these instructions will be extremely helpful for every DOS newbie. They should be added to the FAQ, in unaltered form. (;

disabled the smileys for his post. It should look better now

Not really... (;

It still has nothing to do with the intentions of the original poster, nor does it have anything to do with MS-DOS (except for the "dir" and "cd" commands, that exist not just in the fictional operating system described, but also in DOS).

Am I supposed to use the dosbox.conf file or make a new one?

Am I supposed to open the dosbox.conf file and where it says [autoexec] add:
mount C C:\program files\oldgames\nameofgamehere
C:

Then create a shortcut that has this at the end of what is in the target box:
-conf "C:\Program Files\DOSBox-0.70\dosbox.conf"

Is that what I'm supposed to do or am I way off?

You're on the right track. Add the command that starts the game as well.

You're probably better off creating a new dosbox.conf for every game, since the [autoexec] section probably varies for each one.

Don't forget to use quotes around file names with spaces in your mount command.

So under [autoexec] add:
mount C "C:\program files\oldgames\nameofgamehere\racing.exe"
C:

Is that right or am I supposed to put racing.exe somewhere else? Perhaps on a new line?

Maybe like this? -
mount C "C:\program files\oldgames\nameofgamehere"
racing.exe
C:

First create the custom .conf file with the autoexec changes at the end
mount C "C:\program files\oldgames\nameofgamehere"
C:
racing.exe

Save that as racing.conf in your dosbox directory
Create a new shortcut on your desktop and have it point to dosbox.exe. When you browse to dosbox.exe when creating the shortcut, add -conf racing.conf at the end to instruct it to use that custom .conf file.

Optionally after creating the shortcut to dosbox.exe -conf racing.conf right click on the desktop icon and select Properties then change the icon to something easy for a 4 yr old to recognize. I did this for a couple DOS games my kids play such as Sid and Al's Incredible Toons and it works great.