Backlog Clearing Tips

Quality games I’d like to buy and play release several times a year. But between work, studying, and my other personal obligations; I have a finite amount of time I can dedicate to my favorite pastime. Here are some tips I found to be useful for clearing my backlog.

1. Have Fun

This is key! Play ONLY the games you want to play. If you’re not feeling a game, put it down and move on to another in the pile. It may not be that game’s time yet. Nothing kills motivation like slogging through a game you’re not enjoying. Keep your momentum going by playing games you enjoy. Come back later to games that may be good but are taking you awhile to get into.

2. Use tools for tracking

I personally use Backloggery to track my progress and keep my games list organized in one place. The site keeps stats on the games you finishing games. If you have friends with backlogs, encourage them to join as well - you can be accountability partners. Backloggery creates a nice incentive for finishing your games; the site is cleverly designed to support you in doing so.

3. Compartmentalize

I personally do this and I find it very helpful. I organize games into categories like AAA game, downloable indy game, retro game, etc. For example, I’ll play an AAA game, a small indy game, and a retro game at the same time; alternating between them. If I finish the indy game, I’ll slide another indy game I want to play in my backlog into that slot and start working on finishing that. Sometimes I play multiple AAA or indy games at a time. But I try to keep the amount of games I’m playing through at one time to about 5, max 6. Compartmentalizing my backlog works very well for me and makes sure I’m not letting any games slip through the cracks.

4. Don’t buy more games (except for Day One Must-haves)!!!

If you’re trying to clear the backlog, stop adding to it! If a Day One Must-have drops, then yes, of course, get it and immediately drop it into the rotation. But other games can wait. That sale will come back around again!

5. Stay away from GaaS and competitive Multiplayer games

Both are complete time sinks that largely never end. Playing round after round of CoD multiplayer is not helping you get through your backlog! Same for GaaS/MMO games that are largely designed to never end. Those are cool if you’re into them but just be mindful that these types of games aren’t getting you any closer to achieving your backlog goals!

6. Go for quick wins to build momentum in a slump

If it’s been months since you’ve beaten a game, go for a quick win. Play and finish a short indy title you have in your backlog; something that can take 6-10 hours to beat. This will boost your confidence and give you that quick win dopamine hit you need to keep going.

These six tips have helped me get my backlog to a manageable level. I still have a long way to go. But I’m getting there! I hope you found these tips useful.