Video Game Backlog and Play Log Spreadsheet

About this template

This video game backlog tracker is for players with a pile of unplayed games and no clear idea how big it really is. List every game once, log your sessions, and the workbook tells you what to start next and what the backlog is worth.

A backlog only feels like a problem because it has no size. Here it gets two: what it cost and how many hours it would take.

Please read: This is a tracker tool only, not financial, tax, legal, medical or any other professional advice or advisory service. It records and calculates what you enter; you are solely responsible for checking all figures, rates, dates and results and for every decision you make. By purchasing, downloading or using it, you accept these terms (your statutory consumer rights are not affected).

What it works out for you

• What to start next: the lowest-numbered game you have not finished in each series, as a formula, so it moves the moment you mark one done
• What the backlog is worth: the money spent on unplayed games and the hours they need, both on the summary strip
• Hours per session: where your playing time actually went over the year
• A yearly goal: games finished against your target, with ahead or behind worked out from the day of the year

Ten connected tabs

• Start Here and Setup: a guided start and your settings
• Backlog: your game collection, 400 games with studio, series, hours and price, across ten genres, five formats and ten storefronts
• Play Log: room for 900 sessions, with hours played per sitting
• Series: the next unfinished game in every series
• Challenge: your yearly goal and whether you are on course
• By Genre: what you finish and how you rate it
• Wishlist: a game wishlist with a budget and what is left of it
• Monthly and Dashboard: the year at a glance, filled in automatically

A real backlog to explore

The worked example holds 62 games across 36 series. Nineteen are finished this year against a goal of twenty-four, on course for twenty-six, and 594 hours are logged across 267 sessions at 2.2 hours a sitting. Thirty-six games are still in the backlog, adding up to 1,937 hours, with three series left part-way through and the next game in each one named. A blank copy is ready for your own gaming log.

It is a plain gaming spreadsheet: you type the games and the sessions, and the formulas do all of the counting.

Works with

• Microsoft Excel 2016, 2019, 2021 and Microsoft 365, on Windows and Mac, and LibreOffice
• Google Sheets with a free Google account. The Google Sheets version is a real workbook you make your own copy of, not a PDF with a link in it.
• No dynamic arrays, no macros, no add-ins and no subscription

What you download

• The Excel workbook filled with a worked example
• A blank Excel workbook ready for your own entries
• The instruction guide, which has one-click links to the Google Sheets versions (filled and blank)
• The terms of use as a PDF

Your files are ready to download as soon as payment clears, and the Start Here tab walks you through setup in a few minutes. The template is for personal and business use on your own devices, so please do not share or resell the files. Questions before or after you buy? Use our contact page and we will help.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use it in Google Sheets as well as Excel?

Yes. You download Excel workbooks for Excel 2016 or later on Windows and Mac, and the instruction guide has one-click links to make your own copy in Google Sheets with a free Google account.

How does it decide what I should play next?

For each series it finds the lowest-numbered game you have not finished. The answer updates as soon as you mark a game done.

How many games can I add?

The Backlog tab holds 400 games, and the Play Log has room for 900 sessions.

Can I set a goal for games finished this year?

Yes. The Challenge tab compares games finished with your goal and works out from the date whether you are ahead or behind.

Does it track games I want to buy?

Yes. The Wishlist tab lists the games you want with a budget and shows how much of it is left.