Tildes' Backlog Burner Event: Shrink your unplayed games list this April!

kfwyre
2020-04-01T16:13:32Z

What is this?

First off, this is NOT an April Fool (I promise!). I know that many of us will be stuck at home for this month, I know that many of us could likely use something to pull our attention away from the news, and I know that many of us have accumulated quite the to-play list of games. As such, I'm thinking it could be fun for us to tackle those lists together and collectively clean up our clutter! Let's all burn through our backlogs!

The goal isn't necessarily to completely clear them, just to put a dent in them.

How does it work?

Your "backlog" is all those games you've been meaning to play or get around to, but never have yet! For the purposes of this event, an item can be removed from your backlog in one of three ways:

Finished: you completed the game, or, for open-ended games, reached some level of "done" that you consider satisfactory

Moved On: you tried it out, but it didn't hold your interest, got repetitive, wasn't for you, or had some other issue (like compatibility problems or glitches)

Removed: you are choosing to remove this from your backlog without playing it, likely because it no longer interests you, but really for any reason at all.

Use this thread to talk about your backlogs, plan for the month, and once you start playing, inform us of any backlog downsizing and their associated categories. Give us a list of the games you removed. Tell us why you moved on from what you were just playing. Gush about how a particular item held your interest long enough to see it through. The goal of this isn't to beat every game you own; it's to explore what you already have in the way that's best, and most meaningful, for you. If you're not enjoying a game, dump it and move on!

If you're not sure what you might write, take a look at a previous backlog post to get an idea. Also if you want to keep track of statistics or anything else like that, go for it!

What's the timeline?

I will post an update thread weekly, each Wednesday, for the four weeks of April. At the end of the month, I think it would be neat to tally how many collective games we all removed from our backlogs, as well as what the best finds were from our collective digging into our libraries. I expect we'll turn up some good hidden gems, as well as interesting insights.

Each week, I'll also include some "focus" areas which can help narrow down choices for what to play. Those are just recommendations for fun, however. Play whatever you like, whenever you like, however you like! If it's in your backlog, then it's automatically a good choice!

Do I need to sign up?

You don't have to do anything to officially join or participate in the event other than post in these threads! Participate in whatever way works for you. Also, because this is ongoing, it is okay to make more than one top-level post if you're updating the thread with new information.

Focuses for Week 1:

Games you've been meaning to play for more than a year

Games you can mod

"Evening-size" games

Let's burn through these backlogs!

Meta Note: I am also running this same event for ~books as well. I am not active in the other media-focused communities on Tildes, but I encourage someone(s) to pick this up and run it concurrently for ~movies, ~tv, ~anime, and/or ~music (and any other places you think it might fit). I like the idea of it being sitewide, with people participating in their media formats of choice. Any runners for those groups have my full permission to steal this wholesale, tweak it for their target group, and post it there.

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