What is Backloggery?

Updated

Backloggery is a website for tracking the video games you own, what you're currently playing, and how far you've gotten through the ones you haven't finished yet. It's aimed at players who have accumulated more games than they can keep track of and want a clearer picture of their backlog and priorities. The site's own framing is direct: "You have the games. Play them."

What problem it solves

Most players don't lose track of games because they forget they exist — they lose track because the collection grows faster than the playing does. Backloggery addresses that by giving you one place to record status rather than relying on memory or scattered notes.

According to the site's description, its purpose is to help you track:

  • Now playing — what you're actively working through
  • Backlog progress — how much of your unfinished collection remains
  • Priorities — which games you intend to get to, and in what order

Who it's for

Backloggery fits a specific situation rather than every player:

Situation Does Backloggery help?
You own many games across multiple platforms and lose track of them Yes — that's the core use case
You want to decide what to play next from a large unfinished list Yes — priority tracking is built for this
You have a handful of games and finish them as you buy them Probably not necessary
You want a storefront, review site, or social feed No — it's a tracking tool, not those things

How it works in practice

The site is a personal tracker: you add the games you own, mark their status, and update that status as you play. The value comes from the record being current — a backlog list you never update stops being useful.

One practical detail worth knowing before you visit: Backloggery requires JavaScript. The site displays a notice reading, "We're sorry but the Backloggery doesn't work without JavaScript enabled. Please enable it to continue." If the page appears blank or stuck on that message, JavaScript is disabled or blocked in your browser, and enabling it is the fix.

What to check before committing

  • Whether you'll actually maintain it. A tracker only works if you update it; if you won't, a simple list may serve you just as well.
  • Which platforms you need covered. Confirm the games you own can be represented the way you want before entering a large collection.
  • What you want out of it. If your goal is deciding what to play next, priority tracking matters most; if it's just remembering what you own, basic status entries may be enough.

The underlying idea is simple: the collection isn't the point, playing it is. Backloggery exists to make the gap between the two visible.