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 three eight 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?

• 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):

• 2026 - May
• 2025 - November
• 2025 - May
• 2024 - November
• 2024 - May
• 2023
• 2022
• 2020

Backlog Bingo is back, baby!

• Backlog Bingo

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

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 have always had earphones break after 2-3 years cause of wear and tear, which, fair enough.

but I have a pair of earphones that I literally use for videocalls when WFH. so I use them at my desk...and they still are starting to fray.

I luckily got warranty with them so buying new ones won't really set me back much, but it has made me wonder if there a decent pair of earphones that cost maybe 50-60$ and actually last a good while without breaking down?

I am looking for USB-c earphones and hoping I can find options with or without mics.

Whenever I look on amazon, I always only see weird brands I dont recognize so I get worried about spending too much on an a purchase that seems experimental.

Hi all. I am currently an early career academic. I really enjoy the 'classic' books in my field, but I have noticed that articles are often dull. I know this is probably due to the conventions of articles as well as the norms of various journals, but surely it need not be this way.

Does anyone have some examples of academic articles that are lively, exciting to read, engaging? I am not looking for any specific subject matter, but rather academic articles where it is clear the author has really honed their voice and is not afraid of being fun or playful.

This isn't a complaint at all and it's maybe not even true, it's just a genuine question I have: why does there seem to be so many posts about Denmark relative to its size? I feel like I see more posts about Denmark than practically any other European country. Do we have a lot of Danes here or am I just crazy? :P

What have you been listening to this week? You don't need to do a 6000 word review if you don't want to, but please write something! If you've just picked up some music, please update on that as well, we'd love to see your hauls :)

Feel free to give recs or discuss anything about each others' listening habits.

You can make a chart if you use last.fm:

http://www.tapmusic.net/lastfm/

Remember that linking directly to your image will update with your future listening, make sure to reupload to somewhere like imgur if you'd like it to remain what you have at the time of posting.

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon as you stumbled out of the mansion. Behind you, the ominous cackling gave way to agonized shrieks as the sunlight ignited the shadowy figures in the doorway, the noise echoing until the doors slammed shut.

After a long and hectic night, you survived and made it out of the mansions. Even better: you were able to call a repair service from a phone you repaired in the mansion.

You trudged across the yard slowly, the grass and dirt squishing under each step due to still being damp from the dark and stormy night. Beyond the fence awaited your newly repaired car, a mechanic patiently waiting for payment. You tossed him the requested totem, and he nodded at you before disappearing into a wisp of smoke.

You climbed into your car, and just took a moment to sit and gaze at the sunrise. Your thoughts returned to all the companions you met last night, who failed to survive long enough to see this beautiful dawn with you. A pity, but hey. At least you survived.

Probably.

You might have been replaced with a clone or occult copy with your exact memories. Hard to say, the night got really convoluted sometimes.

Eh, whatever. You're out now.

Shrugging it off, you turned on the car and resumed your grand adventure. Oblivious to the face watching from the window of the final mansion...

The Spooky Mansion Adventures have come to an end! A day late, sorry about that. But I'm sure that extra day didn't kill anyone. Probably.

As a reminder, spoilers are fully permitted without hiding them in this thread. And on that note, I do have one question:

What is your canonical death?

The first death you had in any game. That is how you would presumably die if you were actually there. Though of course, you didn't actually die on this adventure. You're still alive and free to continue to the next leg... Probably.

I hope you all got to enjoy exploring at least one spooky mansion. Whether you dealt with mad scientists or cults, puzzles or monsters, I hope you had a terrific time...

If you're still up for more adventures after that harrowing night, the next adventure should take us to Mother 3 with u/kfwyre as our host.

Schedule

Discussion Topics

Each month will have two discussion topics:

• "Insert Cartridge" - 1st of the month
• "Remove Cartridge" - 28th of the month (25th for February)

Insert Cartridge topics are primarily for getting the game set up and running. Remove Cartridge topics are primarily for reflecting on the game once you've played it. However, the game itself and anything else related to it can be discussed in either one.

Hosting

Each month, the discussion topics will be posted by a different "host" who will act as the emcee for that month.

Hosting is not required, but it is encouraged that people host months for games that they are either already very familiar with or that they are strongly interested in playing.

People who nominated a game will be given preference for hosting, otherwise it will be given to whomever claims it first.

Check out old months to get a feel for what it's like.

If you would like to host a month, let me know which one and I will add you to the schedule.

Before your month begins, I will send you a "Hosting Package" featuring templates that you can edit to your liking.

If no one claims a month, I will host it as a fallback.

Voting Results

The top 6 games from the voting round were chosen to be played.

Of the remaining games:

• The top 50% will advance to the next round. They will start the next round with a base score of 30% of their vote totals.
• The bottom 50% will be removed from the list.

Removed games will be able to be re-nominated in future rounds if someone chooses to do so.

As part of a weekly series, these topics are a place for users to casually discuss the things they did — or didn't do — during their week. Did you accomplish any goals? Suffer a failure? Do nothing at all? Tell us about it!

This is the ninth Tildes Book Club Discussion for 2026 and the twenty-ninth overall. We are discussing Dr. No by Ian Fleming.

I don't have a particular format in mind for this discussion, but I will post some prompts and questions as comments to get things started. You're not obligated to respond to them or vote on them though. So feel free to make your own top-level comment for whatever you wish to discuss, questions you have of others, or even just to post a review of the book you have written yourself.

For latecomers, don't worry if you didn't read the book in time for this Discussion topic. You can always join in once you finish it. Tildes Activity sort, and "Collapse old comments" feature should keep the topic going for as long as people are still replying.

And for anyone uninterested in this topic please use the Ignore Topic feature on this so it doesn't keep popping up in your Activity sort, since it's likely to keep doing that while I set this discussion up, and once people start joining in.

Tildes is a very serious site, where we discuss very serious matters like patrick stewart, flavio bolsonaro and indexing. Tags culled from the highest voted topics from the last seven days, if anyone was out of the loop.

But one of my favourite tags happens to be offbeat! Taking its original inspiration from Sir Nils Olav III, this thread is looking for any far-fetched offbeat stories lurking in the newspapers. It may not deserve its own post, but it deserves a wider audience!

Important Upcoming Date:

• Timasomo Showcase Thread -- Thursday, November 5 (one week away!)

Technically all work should be finished before November 1st (but don’t worry, it’s not enforced 😉).

November 1-4 are for putting finishing touches on the project to ready it for the showcase.

To get a feel for what the Showcase will look like and how to prep your project, check out past ones:

• 2025 Showcase
• 2024 Showcase
• 2023 Showcase
• 2022 Showcase
• 2021 Showcase
• 2020 Showcase
• 2019 Showcase

Update us on your progress so far!

• What did/didn't you get done this week?

• Anything go according to plan?

• Anything go off the rails?

• Any successes or struggles to share?

• Do you need feedback or help on anything?

This is your topic to share anything and everything you want about what you’ve made so far.