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    1. May 2026 Backlog Burner: Conclusion and Recap

      ~games Text 1327 words
      The May 2026 Backlog Burner event is officially over! Over the month of May, 14 participants moved 176 games out of their backlogs. Congratulations to the following Bingo winners: u/aphoenix...

      The May 2026 Backlog Burner event is officially over!

      Over the month of May, 14 participants moved 176 games out of their backlogs.

      Congratulations to the following Bingo winners:

      Special congratulations:

      • u/1338 playing a total of 39 games (including many that you can't even buy anymore)
      • u/aphoenix for masterfully executing a thematically relevant plan for participating
      • u/BailerAppleby for playing so many games from the Tildes Game Giveaways
      • u/dannydotcafe for a truly mellow win
      • u/Durinthal for finishing a game from the 2024 Backlog Burner
      • u/J-Chiptunator for prioritizing their health
      • u/JCPhoenix for posting awesome Let's Plays
      • u/Wes for his many thoughtful comments

      To everyone who played games, shared their thoughts, or even just read through the comments for the event:

      This event is amazing because y'all all make it amazing. Thank you for playing.

      Use this topic to post your final bingo cards, give recaps of your games, and share any thoughts you have on the event itself.

      Who won?

      The question on everyone's mind.

      The feud between the Motivateds and the Mellows was a (possibly one-sided?) rivalry for the ages.

      Who came out on top?

      Well, I'm happy to report that the final numbers are in, and the Grand Winners are:

      Winner

      🎉 Team Mellowtivated 🎉

      We are all one team! There's no actual rivalry. We've actually been gaming together as one wonderful little group this whole time! (Now everybody saw "AWWWWWW" and get all sappy)

      Also, the jury has returned a verdict in u/Wes's trial:

      Verdict

      He has been found guilty of being awesome. His sentence is that he is required to feel immensely proud of his community service in making the amazing Backlog Bingo site and responding thoughtfully to everyone all month long.

      Statistics

      • We averaged 12.6 games per person and 40.0 games per week.
      • There were 424 comments posted across 5 topics.
      • Games starting with the letter S accounted for a full 12% of what we played.
      • Shortest game title: 3 characters (Hue)
      • Longest game title: 54 characters (Bubsy 3D: Bubsy Visits the James Turrell Retrospective) (a 1700% increase)

      Game Lists

      Full Game List (alphabetical)

      0-9

      A

      B

      C

      D

      E

      F

      G

      H

      I

      J

      K

      L

      M

      N

      O

      P

      Q

      R

      S

      T

      U

      V

      W

      X

      Y

      Z

      Full Game List (by week)

      Week 1

      Week 2

      Week 3

      Week 4

      Week 5(ish)

      20 votes

    2. May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 5(ish) Discussion

      ~games Text 755 words
      Only a few days left! Post your current bingo cards. Continue updating us on your games! Quick links: Backlog Bingo Site Week 4 Discussion Week 3 Discussion Week 2 Discussion Week 1 Discussion...

      Only a few days left!

      Post your current bingo cards.
      Continue updating us on your games!

      Quick links:

      Week 4 Recap

      11 participants played 9 bingo cards and moved 43 games out of their backlogs!

      There were three bingo wins. Congratulations to u/CannibalisticApple, u/kfwyre, and u/Wes! 🎉
      There was one ✨⭐️ HONORARY BINGO ⭐️✨ for u/aphoenix.
      There was one betrayal. u/Wes will go on trial following the conclusion of this event

      teamellow

      TEAMOTIVATED

      Y'all are going to have to wait on the game list. I got my allergy shots today and they wreck me, so I don't have the energy to link up everything right now. I'll get to it tomorrow. Sorry!

      Game list:

      Week 3 Recap

      11 participants played 10 bingo cards and moved 37 games out of their backlogs!

      There was one bingo win. Congratulations to u/ShroudedScribe! 🎉

      Team mmmeeeelllllllooooowwwwwww

      Team MO! - TI! - VA! - TED!

      Game list:

      Week 2 Recap

      11 participants played 9 bingo cards and moved 28 games out of their backlogs!

      Team Mellow

      Team Motivated

      All but one are listed above.

      u/Wes

      Is he still Mellow? Or did he join the Motivateds?

      He played three different games, which seems very motivated...

      ...but Mellow is also a state of mind, a pace, a vibe.

      With whom will he stand?

      Game list:

      Week 1 Recap

      Week 1 Recap

      ⚔️🛡️ Battle lines have been drawn. 🛡️⚔️

      Team Mellow

      Calm, easygoing, relaxed (<3 games played this week)

      Team Motivated

      Driven, energized, results-oriented (≥3 games played this week, or, like, only one game played but for a LONG time)

      Who will come out on top? Which team will reign supreme? What metric will we even use to determine what counts as a win? STAY TUNED.

      11 participants played 10 bingo cards and moved 24 games out of their backlogs!

      Game list:

      12 votes

    3. May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion

      ~games Text 531 words
      Week 4 has begun! Post your current bingo cards. Continue updating us on your games! If you did not participate in Week 1 but want to start this week, that's fine! Reminder: playing bingo is...

      Week 4 has begun!

      Post your current bingo cards.
      Continue updating us on your games!

      If you did not participate in Week 1 but want to start this week, that's fine!
      Reminder: playing bingo is OPTIONAL.

      Quick links:

      Week 3 Recap

      11 participants played 10 bingo cards and moved 37 games out of their backlogs!

      There was one bingo win. Congratulations to u/ShroudedScribe! 🎉

      Team mmmeeeelllllllooooowwwwwww

      Team MO! - TI! - VA! - TED!

      Game list:

      Week 2 Recap

      11 participants played 9 bingo cards and moved 28 games out of their backlogs!

      Team Mellow

      Team Motivated

      All but one are listed above.

      u/Wes

      Is he still Mellow? Or did he join the Motivateds?

      He played three different games, which seems very motivated...

      ...but Mellow is also a state of mind, a pace, a vibe.

      With whom will he stand?

      Game list:

      Week 1 Recap

      Week 1 Recap

      ⚔️🛡️ Battle lines have been drawn. 🛡️⚔️

      Team Mellow

      Calm, easygoing, relaxed (<3 games played this week)

      Team Motivated

      Driven, energized, results-oriented (≥3 games played this week, or, like, only one game played but for a LONG time)

      Who will come out on top? Which team will reign supreme? What metric will we even use to determine what counts as a win? STAY TUNED.

      11 participants played 10 bingo cards and moved 24 games out of their backlogs!

      Game list:

      15 votes

    4. May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion

      ~games Text 396 words
      Week 3 has begun! Post your current bingo cards. Continue updating us on your games! If you did not participate in Week 1 but want to start this week, that's fine! Reminder: playing bingo is...

      Week 3 has begun!

      Post your current bingo cards.
      Continue updating us on your games!

      If you did not participate in Week 1 but want to start this week, that's fine!
      Reminder: playing bingo is OPTIONAL.

      Quick links:

      Week 2 Recap

      11 participants played 9 bingo cards and moved 28 games out of their backlogs!

      Team Mellow

      Team Motivated

      All but one are listed above.

      u/Wes

      Is he still Mellow? Or did he join the Motivateds?

      He played three different games, which seems very motivated...

      ...but mellow is also a state of mind, a pace, a vibe that he rolls with.

      So the question lingers: with whom will he stand?

      Answer: u/Wes remains on Team Mellow

      Game list:

      Week 1 Recap

      Week 1 Recap

      ⚔️🛡️ Battle lines have been drawn. 🛡️⚔️

      Team Mellow

      Calm, easygoing, relaxed (<3 games played this week)

      Team Motivated

      Driven, energized, results-oriented (≥3 games played this week, or, like, only one game played but for a LONG time)

      Who will come out on top? Which team will reign supreme? What metric will we even use to determine what counts as a win? STAY TUNED.

      11 participants played 10 bingo cards and moved 24 games out of their backlogs!

      Game list:

      15 votes

    5. May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion

      ~games Text 214 words
      Week 2 has begun! Post your current bingo cards. Continue updating us on your games! If you did not participate in Week 1 but want to start this week, that's fine! Reminder: playing bingo is...

      Week 2 has begun!

      Post your current bingo cards.
      Continue updating us on your games!

      If you did not participate in Week 1 but want to start this week, that's fine!
      Reminder: playing bingo is OPTIONAL.

      Quick links:

      Week 1 Recap

      ⚔️🛡️ Battle lines have been drawn. 🛡️⚔️

      Team Mellow

      Calm, easygoing, relaxed (<3 games played this week)

      Team Motivated

      Driven, energized, results-oriented (≥3 games played this week, or, like, only one game played but for a LONG time)

      Who will come out on top? Which team will reign supreme? What metric will we even use to determine what counts as a win? STAY TUNED.

      11 participants played 10 bingo cards and moved 24 games out of their backlogs!

      Game list:

      15 votes

    6. May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion

      ~games Text 913 words
      The blaze has officially ignited! (and May has officially mellowed, for those going the chill route) Quicklink: Backlog Bingo Etiquette: It is fine to make multiple top-level posts throughout the...

      The blaze has officially ignited!

      (and May has officially mellowed, for those going the chill route)

      Etiquette:

      • It is fine to make multiple top-level posts throughout the week.

      • It is also fine to respond to your own posts.

      • If you are playing Backlog Bingo, you can share your table either by markdown or through screenshots.

      Gameplay guidelines:

      • Goals for this event (if any) are entirely individual and self-determined.

      • Playing Bingo is optional and not required.

      • You do NOT need to finish games unless you want to. The point is to try out games and have fun, not force ourselves to play things we're not interested in.

      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!

      14 votes

    7. Announcing the Backlog Burner event for May 2026: Shrink your unplayed games list this coming month!

      ~games Text 1083 words
      It's almost time... ...for another 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 2026 will...

      It's almost time...

      ...for another 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 2026 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:

      Backlog Bingo returns yet again!

      You might notice that the already beautiful Backlog Bingo site has gotten even more beautifuller. That's because our intrepid u/Wes has been hard at work once again adding polish to the site, changing things on the backend to make them smoother and more elegant, and even sprucing up the category lists.

      Backlog Bingo has literally never been better! Or more beautifuller!

      If you participated last time, clear your old card and start fresh with a new one.

      If you're new to the event, click the link above to generate your card (but only if you want to -- playing a bingo card is NOT required to participate).

      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!

      18 votes