My backlog consists of games I've bought because I want to play them. But because there's always something on offer I end up buying more than I can get through. So this will be a way to stop myself spending money when I already have enough games to get me through to the end of this year. If I find I'm not enjoying one of them, I'll mark it "dnf" and hide it from my library. So I've absolutely no plan to play a game if it turns out to not be any fun.

Some people just do it this way. This doesn‘t mean they don‘t have fun. I noticed this happens with books too; people buy books and then track how many they‘ve read, set goals etc. Some people think it‘s stupid, but for some it‘s fun.

Yeah, the idea of a "backlog" just sounds like a chore to me. I just try to not buy as many games anymore - I think Steam sales and similar events got people in the habit of buying dozens of games at a time, and then your library fills up with games you've never touched.

I don't really buy games anymore unless I'm going to start them within the next week or so.

Nor I. Honestly, I'd rather have a wealth of options I can play and never do rather than having a giant fuckin' chore list for something that is not supposed to be a chore.

I don't have to "get through my backlog" because it's not a backlog. It's an option set.

I agree with this. Except when it comes to games I've bought but not even touched. I've gotten a lot better about not buying games I won't get to for a while lol. But I still have a good chunk of games I want to at least start and see if I vibe with.

But yeah, if I'm not enjoying it, I won't force myself to finish

Obvious "this is what works for me and why I do it" disclaimer, but:

• I have a growing collection of games which spans multiple consoles and physical/digital media alike, so I need a way to track what games I have and where, so as to not buy them multiple times (I don't believe this to be a typical use case, but I could be wrong?).
• Aside from that practical element, I have a few lists on HLTB where I track what I (might) want to play next, but realistically it's pretty much always a case of checking out what I have and picking one based on my mood / gut feeling / whatever.
• Lastly, it's about actually finishing games - getting started with some form of tracking helped me tremendously get past the "pick up and drop after a few hours" mentality (?). I wouldn't have gotten to experience some of the best games I've played in recent memories, were it not for my backlog, because I probably would have forgotten I had them / wouldn't have stuck with them.