Announcing the Backlog Burner event for November 2026: Shrink your unplayed games list this coming month!
Let's talk... Remember that bundle you bought with the best of intentions and then never played any of the games from? What about that 90% off deal that you just HAD to have but now it's been...
Let's talk...
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Remember that bundle you bought with the best of intentions and then never played any of the games from?
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What about that 90% off deal that you just HAD to have but now it's been
threeeight years and you still haven't done anything with it? -
That Humble Choice subscription that you still redeem every month but haven't actually touched since 2024? Those Epic freebies you redeem then ignore?
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And let’s not forget that you wanted to be charitable (of course) so you donated for a mega collection that had 2 games you've actually heard of and 200 you haven't. Meanwhile, you have played 0.
Well do I have a deal for you!
The biannual Backlog Burner is back with the sale opportunity of the year: a Reverse Bundle! That's right: instead of paying money for a NEW bunch of games, you can pay NOTHING for an old bunch of games that you already have! What a bargain!
Whether it's a soon-to-be recent release like GTA VI (of course a game can be on your backlog before it's come out -- you've already been thinking about it for YEARS!) or an icon of yesteryear like Galaga or a niche itch.io find like Ginseng Hero, it all counts for the Backlog Burner.
Play whatever you like and build the REVERSE BUNDLE of your dreams!
If you're new to the Backlog Burner, check out our previous events to get an idea of what's going on. The Backlog Burner is a chance to try out games you've always wanted to play but haven't yet (for whatever reason):
Backlog Bingo is back, baby!
It's no secret that Backlog Bingo is the most functional and elegant website on the internet.
After winning dozens of industry awards and being celestially immortalized by being etched into golden records that were sent into the sun on the Voyager 3 mission, Wes decided that, in fact, there were still more improvements to make on his already perfect website.1
He got to work. He squashed some bugs. I also squashed some bugs, but those were real ones, and it was an accident (sorry bugs). He also made the website more accessible, so if you're using a screenreader, it's even more functional and elegant. He also, in his words, allegedly "converted a JavaScript library [he'd] been using over to a new native browser API" which is either a super legit improvement or he's trying to pull one over on me (you decide, because I legitimately can't on account of a lack of background knowledge and tech understanding).
It's the same Bingo site we know and love, made once again better by the inimitable Wes we know and love.
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
What exactly is the Backlog Burner?
Your "backlog" is all those games you've been meaning to play or get around to, but never have yet. This event is an attempt to get us to collectively dig into that treasure trove of experiences, scratch some long-standing itches, and knock a few titles off our to-play lists.
It runs every May and November. New discussion topics will go up once a week during those months.
You do not need to sign up in advance -- the topics are open to all. If you would like to be included in the notification list, comment in this topic to be added.
How do I participate?
- Choose some games from your backlog and play them.
- Then tell us about your experiences in the discussion thread for the week.
That's it!
Optionally: you can play Backlog Bingo which is a fun way of cutting down the choices you have to make and playing games you might not have normally selected on your own.
Do I need to finish the games that I play?
Nope! Not at all.
There aren't really any requirements for the event so much as this is an incentive to get us to play games we've been avoiding starting up, for whatever reason. Play as much or as little as you like of a given game.
Try out dozens for ten minutes each or dive into one for 40 hours. There's no wrong way to participate!
Can I make multiple posts in the same topic?
Yes! Each discussion thread stays live for a full week, so feel free to make multiple comments in the topic as you play different games. This isn't considered noise -- it's considered valuable participation in the event!
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.
I'm a returning player. How do I reset my previous card?
If you've already created a card and wish to start over, click the Settings button in the header to access your card settings. Then click the Reset button, and confirm the prompt. This will irrevocably delete your present card, allowing you to start fresh.
Where is my data stored?
All data is stored by your browser in local storage. There are no accounts, and nothing is sent to the server, so it's privacy-friendly by design. This does mean that you are responsible for not deleting any browser data on wescook.ca, either manually or through automatic cleanups performed on browser close.
Backlog Bingo is open-source, and licensed permissively under MIT.
What is the difference between the "Standard" and "Golf" modes?
In Standard Mode, each square on the bingo card corresponds with one single game. Duplicate games cannot be entered into different squares. A winning card would have a row of five different games that each filled in one square.
In Golf Mode, duplicates are not only allowed -- they are encouraged! The purpose of Golf mode is to try to find a single game that will fill multiple categories at the same time. For example: Stardew Valley might fulfill You got it on sale, A solo-dev project, and Has romanceable characters all at the same time. A winning card would have all twenty five squares filled, but possibly only six or seven different games.
What is the star space in the middle?
That is the "wildcard" or "free space."
In Standard Mode, there are no requirements to fill it. You can choose any game you want! Anything goes!
In Golf Mode, it does not need to be filled. Because Golf is all about stacking up categories on a single game, any game used in Golf would fill it automatically, meaning it has no real function. As such, the square will be pre-filled for you if you play in Golf mode.
The new Free list defaults to having this space turned off. Because you already have full freedom in how you fill the squares, having a free space is redundant (though if you miss it or just like the aesthetics, you can certainly turn it back on!).
Can I create custom bingo categories for this, or other events?
Absolutely! The Backlog Bingo app reads in simple JSON files which define the available categories. We've created a couple prebuilt lists for this event, but you're free to tweak our categories, or create completely new ones. You could even use them for books, anime, movies, recipes -- anything!
If you are interested in learning more, you can find documentation on the wiki, and use an example JSON category file. You can also ask for help in the topic!