Miami Grand Prix
Miami International Autodrome
May 2-4, 2025

Sprint Race Qualification:
Friday, May 2, 2025 - 20:30 UTC / 16:30p US EDT

Sprint Race:
Saturday, May 3, 2025 - 16:00 UTC / 12:00p US EDT

Grand Prix Qualification:
Saturday, May 3, 2025 - 18:00 UTC / 2:00p US EDT

Grand Prix:
Sunday, May 4, 2025 - 18:00 UTC / 2:00p US EDT

See your local time here

Next race:

Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari
Sunday, May 18, 2025

It's almost time...

...for another Tildes Backlog Burner -- the event where you try out games you've always wanted to play (but haven't yet -- for whatever reason).

The Backlog Burner for May 2025 will officially begin in two days on May 1st.

If you're new to the Backlog Burner, check out our previous events to get an idea of what's going on:

• 2024 - November
• 2024 - May
• 2023
• 2022
• 2020

Backlog Bingo is back and better than ever!

New Category List

In addition to Flux and Flow from the past, we've added a new list: Free!

This one is dead simple: the letters of the alphabet, and nothing more. You have (nearly) complete freedom in how you fill your squares. For example, Half-Life could fill:

• H for its title
• G for Gordon Freeman
• F for First-Person Shooter
• X for "Xen is really kind of a letdown, isn't it?"

The choice is entirely yours! Be as strict or as loose as you want to be with it.

We also added nearly three dozen words to the popular Flow set from last time. Maybe you'll roll some of the new additions, like Sly, Maneuver, or Whimsy?

New Site Features

u/Wes, coding wizard that he is, has added some incredible new features to the site:

• Seeded Cards: You can now roll the same exact card as someone else by providing the same seed. It's available on the Settings page (just make sure all other settings are the same as well).

• Import/Export: Need to move your card from your desktop to your phone? And then to your laptop? And then back to your desktop? Use the new Import/Export feature to save your card and its progress and move it between devices as much as you want. (Note: this also doubles as a backup tool for anyone worried about losing their card!)

• Behind the Scenes Polish: You won't be able to tell just by looking at the site but there's a lot of backend stuff that Wes spruced up. Better error handling, a custom schema and validator for the category files, proper SVG icons, better mobile responsiveness, etc.

Truly, the site has never been better!

If you participated last time, clear your old card and start fresh with a new one. If you're new to the event, simply go to the Backlog Bingo site to generate your card.

Notification List

If you are interested in participating in the Backlog Burner, please comment in this topic. Anyone commenting/replying here will automatically be added to a notification list for the Backlog Burner, unless you specify otherwise.

Start Planning (or Playing)

Technically the event starts in two days, so you have time to roll your cards (if you're playing Bingo) and plan out what you'd like to play for the month. That said, if you're eager to jump right in, and start early, I certainly won't stop you!

Let's get ready to burn through these backlogs!

Backlog Burner FAQ

Backlog Bingo FAQ

Important: All data for your Backlog Bingo card is stored on your device, not the server. Clearing your browser data will delete your card. You can use the export feature to make backups or move your card between devices.

Last of this triple header!

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Jeddah Corniche Circuit
April 18-20, 2025

Qualification Session:
Saturday, April 19, 2025 - 17:00 UTC / 1:00p US EDT

Grand Prix:
Sunday, April 20 2025 - 17:00 UTC / 1:00p US EDT

See your local time here

Next race:

Miami Grand Prix
Miami International Autodrome
Sunday, May 4, 2025
Sprint Race Weekend

As requested last week, I'm doing something different for this race. This will be a discussion post for both Qualification and the Grand Prix itself. Or anything else concerning this weekend: Free Practices, Formula 2, Formula 3, whatever. There's also a Formula E in Miami race this weekend and an INDYCAR race in Long Beach on Sunday. Plus MotoGP in Qatar and IMSA also in Long Beach.

I'll post Quali results here. Plus, as usual, the race results. Maybe one of our cool, seemingly never sleeping, Tildes mods can rename the post after everything is finished!

Qualification Session:
Saturday, April 12, 2025 - 16:00 UTC / 12:00p US EDT

Bahrain Grand Prix:
Sunday, April 13, 2025 - 15:00 UTC / 11:00a US EDT

See your local time here

Next race:

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Jeddah Corniche Circuit
Sunday, April 20, 2025

Overheard in the Cooldown Room:

Piastri: "That's all the highlights? That's all that happened in that race?

Norris: "Nothing happened. I didn't think there was one overtake [laughs]."

Piastri: "For a race that felt like it was pretty flat out, nothing...nothing happened."

Haha, never change, Oscar. Never change.

I'm going to bed.

Next race:

Bahrain Grand Prix
Bahrain International Circuit
Sunday, April 13, 2025

2 Grand Prix races finished already. I'd forgotten what Shanghai International Circuit looked like; cool track.

Not as exciting as Melbourne, but that's probably because the rain really spiced up AusGP at the end. Some thoughts as I watched:

• Alonso retired due to break issues in Lap 5. Not a great start to the season
• Weird to see Max lose two spots at the start of the first lap and not immediately recover
• Poor Yuki with his broken frontwing. Broke out of nowhere, too. Man just can't catch a break...
• Great little fight between Charles and Max in Lap 53. Max did eventually recover to his starting P4
• Both Haas in the points? Nice! Ocon P7 and Bearman P10

Congrats to Piastri on his 3rd F1 win! I get the feeling we're going to be seeing this McLaren 1-2 frequently. Who's in which position, we'll see. Though with the Ferraris, Russell, and Max also mixing it up up top, this should be a good season.

Next race:

Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka Circuit
Sunday, April 6, 2025

Welcome back to Formula 1! And what a start to the 2025 season with a wet track and even heavy rain in Melbourne!

First things first: Poor rookies. Hadjar was into the barriers during the formation lap. Then Doohan was out after the restart. Or was that the actual start since Hadjar triggered an aborted start? Which not a rookie, that triggered Sainz into the barriers during the safety car. Lawson then had his chance to hit the barriers during Lap 47, with Bortoletto into the walls somewhere there abouts. Though for those last two, that was during the heavy rain. Alonso, the eternal rookie, rounded out the group of wallflowers.

The only rookie to survive? Antonelli. And he ended P5! He would've ended P4, but he got a 5sec penalty for an unsafe release earlier. Regardless, impressive.

EDIT: After a successful appeal, Antonelli's 5sec penalty is removed! He regains his on-track P4, with Albon back to P5. Results updated below.

When the rain hit, it was pure chaos. All the tire strategies went out the window. Some went straight to inters, while some stayed on slicks. Max was P1. Then Hamilton was P1. But then they and everyone else went to inters. Norris ended up back in P1 and ended the race there.

Lastly, Piastri's recovery drive was something to watch. Sometime around Lap 45, he ended up beached in the grass. But he was like "Hell no," and willed that car back onto track. He dropped from P2 down to the back of the field since it took him so long to get out. But he still ended up in the points at P9. Felt like he was driving on pure frustration and anger...and it worked!

Onward to Shanghai next weekend!

Next race:

Chinese Grand Prix
Shanghai International Circuit
Sunday, March 23, 2025

Picture: Anora

This is more of a fluid race than we have been used to this decade so far. Conclave could win here. PGA is the only guild that uses the voting system the Oscar's does, and Anora won there. However, Conclave won SAG Ensemble and is guaranteed a screenplay win and that's all that Spotlight needed to win in a fractured field.

Director: Sean Baker - Anora

Again, director was split at this year's BAFTA and DGA. With Corbet (Brutalist) winning the former and Baker winning the latter. DGA has determined the race most of the time when the category is split like this.

Original Screenplay: Anora written by Sean Baker

It won WGA, and it's closest competition would be A Real Pain which did not receive a Best Picture nomination. Had The Substance won Original Screenplay in BAFTA this would be more in jeopardy.

Adapted Screenplay: Conclave Screenplay by Peter Straughan. Based on the novel by Robert Harris.

Swept.

Lead Actor: Timothee Chalamet - A Complete Unknown

I'm going with the SAG four. SAG and BAFTA have alternated these past few years and the Academy went with all the BAFTA winners last year (which is how Stone beat Gladstone). So I'm sticking with this pattern and saying Chalamet beats Brody. (fun fact: Chalamet would be the youngest winner in this category, Adrian Brody currently holds that title for his performance in The Pianist).

Lead Actress: Demi Moore - The Substance

Again, SAG. I think Moore has the narrative unlike Mikey Madison who is her closest competition.

Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin - A Real Pain

Swept.

Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldana - Emilia Perez

Swept.

Cinematography: The Brutalist

It won the BAFTA. Maria and Nosferatu are the only other films with wins but they're not Picture nominees and the winner in this category is usually a Picture nominee.

Original Score: The Brutalist

Original Song: "El Mal" from Emilia Perez

Costume Design: Wicked

Production Design: Wicked

Hair and Make-up: The Substance

VFX: Dune: Part Two

Sound: Dune: Part Two

BAFTA and CAS split here, with CAS going with A Complete Unknown. ACU just doesn't make much sense as a Sound winner to me. La La Land couldn't even win a sound award so I'm sticking with the bombastic sound here.

Film Editing: Conclave

Again, not a clear winner here. Conclave won BAFTA and the editors guild will announce winners after the Oscar ceremony. There used to be a correlation in this category with Sound, but since the merging of Sound Editing and Sound Mixing into one category this correlation has gotten weaker. EEAAO won here without a Sound nomination, and Oppenheimer won here despite losing Sound to Zone of Interest.

International Feature: Emilia Perez

Some people seem to think that I'm Still Here will win here due to the controversies surrounding Emilia Perez. It's clear that those controversies did not affect Saldana's chances so I don't see why it would ruin them here.

Animated Feature: The Wild Robot

Another split category. The Golden Globes went with Flow while the BAFTA's went with Wallace and Gromit. When the category is this split it goes to the PGA winner (Toy Story 4 won here having only won PGA).

Documentary Feature: No Other Land

I don't know much about this category, but this documentary has drummed up quite a bit of buzz. So I'll go with this.