Wozzer
Member
A thread for people that are trying to play 52 games in a year. Tell us how you're doing and what you are going to play next - claim a post and update us on your progress!
How do I take part?
Claim a 'main post' where you will list all your completions for the year. You can use fancy images or special formatting to make it extra cool. In addition to this post your updates, completions and thoughts as singular posts throughout the year.
Does my main post need to adhere to a format?
Nope! We previously did, but now you can have it formatted however you like. Take some inspiration from previous year posts. Here's a beautiful example!
Do I need to post reviews, scores, dates and stuff?
Also nope! It is highly recommended to spruce up your completions with mini reviews, a score (for example 2/5), your playtime duration, date completed, platform or any such fun statistical information but it's not required. You do you.
What's that Hall of Fame thing?
Those who beat the challenge get placed in the shrine that is the 'Hall of Fame'™. Furthermore you'll get a pretty little medal that denotes how many years you've overcome the challenge. Cool kids have been doing this for over five years.
How do I know when I've completed a game?
That can be tricky to determine, but it's ultimately up to you. If its a straightforward single player game then it's typically when the credits roll, but if it's say a multiplayer session based game maybe its when you've unlocked a certain feature or completed a battle pass.
Do the completions need to be games released this year?
Nope; any video game will suffice. It can be first plays or replays, classics or recent releases. It can be a game you started last year but are finishing this year.
Do board games count?
They do not. Vidya games only here.
I want to record durations, do I have to manually count?
No, most platforms (Steam, Xbox, Nintendo, etc) will do the duration tracking for you! If in doubt you can also use sites like HLTB to fill in the blanks.
Do episodic games count as a single game or X amount of games?
That's up to you. It's alright to count something like Life is Strange as one or five games. Your choice, for whatever makes sense with how you've been playing. Ask other users if in doubt.
What should I do once I've completed the challenge?
Send me a DM on this platform, with a link to your post that shows all the games you've completed, and I'll make you thread famous by adding you to the Hall of FameTM. If I take a while to respond don't panic, I tend to go into periods of hibernation throughout the year.
Is there a deadline?
Until Dec 31st 2026 @ 11.59pm!
Archive: 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 (shout out to
jshackles
as the prior host)
Starting in 2020 our Discord (http://discord.backlogbeat.com/) has since grown to over 150 members. Among discussing the 52 Challenge (posting updates, picking games, etc) we also coordinate a slew of other totally cool game activities (see below)…
A play on a traditional book club that sees us choosing and collectively playing a nominated game per month, sharing our thoughts and opinions through to beating it. Those who beat the current nomination get entered into the raffle to pick the next months; share your favourite games or recent releases you're excited for with us!
| Jan: - | Jul: - |
| Feb: - | Aug: - |
| Mar: - | Sep: - |
| Apr: - | Oct: - |
| May: - | Nov: - |
| Jun: - | Dec: - |
It's the same thing as above, but only for movies! Similar approach in that all you need to do is watch the nominated film to acquire a raffle ticket with an even lower bar to enter as most choices can be completed with a leisurely sub 3 hour investment.
| Jan: - | Jul: - |
| Feb: - | Aug: - |
| Mar: - | Sep: - |
| Apr: - | Oct: - |
| May: - | Nov: - |
| Jun: - | Dec: - |
Sometimes it's tricky to get a thing nominated but there's enough folk playing it that it makes sense to carve a dedicated place and play together. Elden Ring is a great example of a game that reaches new heights when played alongside others.
Come say hey, everyone is welcome and folks from these threads are our favourite kind of people! You'll likely see a lot of familiar faces
The brave individuals that overcome the challenge this year;
<Soon!>
The additional survivors who overcame the challenge of the previous years thread;
And below are the legacy participants from years prior who we hope to see return to us this year;
And so there lists all those that have risen to the challenge during this or prior years! If you see yourself beating the challenge, please remember to send me a DM with your post once you're done!
.
so in the immortal words of Fergie "Let's Get The Party Started…..In Herreeeeee"
