PrinceScamp, since we can't tell what's wrong (you posted no error messages), let's start all over.
First you install DOSBox. The version I'm using is 0.63. You could use a newer version... I think the configurations are similar.
After DOSBox is installed, open your start menu. It should have created a DOSBox group, and it contains two important shortcuts: DOSBox and DOSBox.conf.
A little background first: DOSBox is an emulator... that means, it uses your x86 machine running Windows, to fake a x86 machine running DOS. It would be real enough to allow DOS programs to run in it.
Also, Windows have a new way to organize the data stored on harddisk - the older one is called FAT32, the newer one (most likely the one you're using) is NTFS. DOS however can only use FAT. So the DOSBox cannot use your harddisk directly... the emulation has to fake that as well.
To do that, we "mount" a drive.
Open DOSBox.conf. Scroll all the way down to the end of the file. Here, you'll find a [autoexec] section. This section contains the commands to run when your DOSBox starts.
After
[autoexe] line, press ENTER so you start on a new line. Type these:
mount C C:\DOSGames
C:
The command above creates a C drive in your DOSBox, which in reality is your Windows' C:\DOSGames directory, a place where you place your DOS games in. (This way you only mount one drive for all your games) The second line simply changes the current drive to C, the one just mounted. Save the file and close it.
Think of it as an alias... when you talk about C:\DOSGames in Windows, you'll be talking about C:\ in your DOSBox.
Then extract the zip file you got into C:\DOSGames\AC. I'd recommend using short file and directory names (at most 8 before dot, 3 after dot), otherwise the name will be shorthanded in a certain way. Still accessible, but you'll have to know how the shorthand is done.
Now use the start menu shortcut and open DOSBox. It should display this as the last line:
C:\>
To make sure you've mounted it correctly, list the contents of the directory:
dir /w
You should see AC among the list.
Then to play the game, you need to change into the AC directory:
CD AC
It should now read:
C:\AC\>
Now type the command to launch the game:
AC_MAIN.EXE
You should see the game's logo next.
But I have the boardgames (Civilization and Advanced Civilization).
