So generally I try to play what I win, since I only enter for games I think I might enjoy or seem interesting. Indeed, I had for a while managed to play just about every game I'd won. Then for a while I wasn't playing games, then when I was, I had a hard time focusing on any single game and just kept hopping around from game to game, etc.

Lately, I've been having a pretty good winning streak, and I noticed that I hadn't even played most of the stuff I'd won in the last year and this steamgifts backlog was growing quickly. I started wondering whether or not others played the games they win here. So I looked at the winners of my previous giveaways and was disheartened to see that most of them hadn't been played at all, and of the few that had, most of those had barely been played at all. Specially since, excepting my first two GAs, I try to only give away games I consider decent at least, even if they might be bundled and/or cheap. And they'd had a year to play them.

Now, I'm not judging them. I only looked at the one game they had won from me. It's entirely possible that it's just a coincidence, and they do tend to play most of their wins. Or they have valid reasons, such as waiting to complete a series before playing it, being stuck with a PC that's unable to play them, and so on. I myself have many of the same reasons for a few wins of mine. And then we all have huge backlogs nowadays. Anyway, this is not about judging, I don't like judging.

So, I've started prioritizing playing some of my unplayed wins and I'm finding that it's actually a decent motivator when faced with a huge backlog. Just thought I'd share my feelings and find out what other people think and/or do.

If you got through that wall of text, then there's a reward for you, but only if you will play it in the near future.

9 years ago

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Do you actually play the games you win? (GA inside)

View Results
Of course, why else would I enter?
I try to, but backlog.
One does not simply play games.
I'm a collector, not a gamer, Jim!
Just here for the potatoes.

I played most of them, but, well, I have a backlog. I really should start Child of Light soon.

9 years ago
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I still have a little bit of catching up to do, but I try to play them asap after winning.

9 years ago
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I just graduated from UNI yesterday, so anything I won in the last year has been in the backlog category.
Now with some extra free time I plan to catch up on some games I won.

9 years ago
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Congrats!

9 years ago
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sure, that's why I enter them... or in rare cases cause I lost my old cd versions (like the Star Wars games recently). then it is about retaining the ability to play them... should I get the urge to do so again

9 years ago
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Played some but it seems like theres always a new game out that ive bought and so play that first.

9 years ago
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I played every one except Witcher 2 - I still have to finish the first Witcher.

9 years ago
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9 years ago
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I always try to, but yes, backlog.
For example, tonight I'm going to start playing the second season of The Walking Dead. I've had it forever.

I actually have this weird mental hiccup where I get excited for something, but then put off playing it because "Now isn't the best time. I only have two hours and also I have this other stuff I could do instead...", and end up pushing it back infinitely trying to wait for the perfect moment. Which often means a good 4 hours at least to play it in, nothing outstanding to do, next to zero chance of visitors (or a near-midnight play session), and so forth.

So yeah, a little neurotic, but I really like to totally sink my brain into things when I play them. I get the same with books, and dear god, audiobooks. I can only ever listen to audiobooks on the bus, otherwise my mind starts to wander. Yes, yes I am weird, thanks for asking! :P

9 years ago
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This is exactly how I am. The Walking Dead Season 2 is one of the games I've been putting off also.

9 years ago
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It's great. I played two episodes and had to stop given it's like... wow, almost 6:30am. Find an excuse, it's worth it!
Plus you can pause at any time by pressing escape~

9 years ago
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Basically this. It's the combination of backlog and perfect moment that pushes them down my priority list. It definitely helps if the games have cards, though, although it's still hard finding that perfect moment. It actually annoys me I have 10 games I want to play with card drops remaining that I still haven't found that perfect moment of.

9 years ago
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9 years ago
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I meant to play Far Cry 3 but then we slipped into winter. I think that's a game best saved for the middle of summer, especially given my room where the computer is can be like an oven. Helps immersion, right? :D

9 years ago
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I have Costume Quest 2 and Blackwell Epiphany. It would suck to have to wait until Halloween. Haha

9 years ago
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Yeah, I'm like that too. Perhaps worse, even, as it's not just time, but mood, ability to focus, etc. So I have some games I want to play, that supposedly have quite good stories, and I might think "I can't focus right now, it'd be a shame to not pay proper attention to the story" so I put it off, and go play something more mindless instead.

9 years ago
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I also have a backlog but it's mostly because of me playing multiplayer. I usually get called in to games when I get online and seldom do I get to play solo except on some rare occasions when none of my buddies are online or interested to get gaming.

9 years ago
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It's funny because they're quite involved, but when you get familiar with twitch gaming, a few matches on a shooter can be our equivalent of a casual game. It's all too easy to sneak off for a match of your preferred FPS than to invest the time into soaking up the start of a new story. It gets worse if you have several that you enjoy.

9 years ago
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It's harder when you have a set of regular fallback games, particularly games that are easy to pick up like one of the many multiplayer favourites like CS, TF2, Spelunky, Mount Your Friends and so forth.

Plus on top of that you have to be in the mood~

9 years ago
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^^^^ This. I want to be really focused and in a mood that allows me to fully enjoy everything that I'm seeing and hearing.

9 years ago
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it's okay, you're not weird at all. come at me bruh. \o/

9 years ago
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You better not be implying I'm 'normal'. I will hurt your arms.

9 years ago
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you'll never know if you won't try. ;)

9 years ago
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Not at the moment.. I have too many games to play and achievements to get.

9 years ago
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I recently almost completed Ampu-tea so yes.

9 years ago
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The ones I've won I all played and nearly completed them as well. And I plan to play every win in the future as well since I only enter pretty few giveaways anyway. Although in the last months I have started to increase the unplayed games in my Steam library (still less than 10 I think) mainly due to increasing work load and bad achievement hunting habit ...

9 years ago
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Massive backlog ;\ I fully intend to play them or at least try them though. It just might take awhile to get around to it.

9 years ago
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I usually win those games nobody wants to play, so not usually (sometimes I try them for 30 minutes to say they are bad). I won ghostmaster and Holy Avatar that I played :) So basicly you forgot about "I play the good ones" option.
And I enter GA for all those bad games for fun, I like to see myself losing all those 1000 of good GAs to win 1 shitty one :D

9 years ago
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Well, "good" is generally subjective. There are sometimes bad games that I consider interesting in some way, like maybe they tried something different, even if it ended up badly. Then there's some people that like some "bad" games, for some appropriate definition of "bad", because they find it funny or amusing. Like people who like bad horror movies/games, etc.

And maybe sometimes you knowingly play one of those games, thinking you might get something out of it. And maybe sometimes you do, and other times you don't. But maybe someone else does.

Then there's just absolutely bad games with no redeeming qualities whatsoever that no one ever possibly enjoys in any way. And sometimes the myth of their badness builds to a point where some people manage to get something out of that myth, if not the game itself. (It seems like bad rats, secret of the magic crystal, and so on fit in this category, but I wouldn't personally know.

9 years ago
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Dead horde (propably) and Grass Simulator are in the 3rd group.

9 years ago
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Backlog and lack of time...

9 years ago
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This, also I've been extremely lucky lately

9 years ago
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I play them all immediately. Granted, that's all of two so far, and the backlog of things I already had is massive, but I figure if I won it, I owe it to whoever gave it away to give it a shot.

9 years ago
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I checked and there are only 2 games I didn't played from the 14 I won here.

9 years ago
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I've won three games.

I was interested by Adventures of Van Helsing II, but time and again I always overestimate my clunky laptop's abilities to handle big games like that. I mean, it can handle all the Borderlands games, Dishonored, FEAR 3, and Murdered: Soul Suspect (the latter just barely) but I think for a game that huge and intricate it needs something much stronger to run it; it runs it, but not as well as it should.

9 years ago
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I've played 6/9 that I've won. Excluding the one I just happened to win today.

9 years ago
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I don't enter giveaways unless it is a game I believe I'd play - otherwise someone else is welcome to it. It kinda makes me a little bit sad when I look at people who have won giveaways and see they have won a bunch of stuff but only ever play DotA 2 or some such. On the other hand that is maybe a large part of why I have won one game ever...

9 years ago
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9 years ago
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I always at least try them out to decide where to put them on my backlog list (won games get higher priority).

9 years ago
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I try and finish every game i win!

9 years ago
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I try to play everything I win here, and I do so in most cases. But there are some times when I simply can't play everything that I've won on this site, and boy, the things I've won are so darn good.

Let's take Crysis 2 for example. I won that game about a year ago, and I've only put about 2 hours in it. The main reason is that I wanted to try the first 2 games first and a few days ago I finally got them thanks to the cyberpunk sale. On top of that, I have a graduation coming up in the next 2 months and a degree to finish in the same time interval. ( marketing & tourism research takes a lot of time, unfortunately )

I think the bottom line would be that some folks might have all the time to play what they win here, others might not and, just like me, they are waiting for a less busy period of their lives to enjoy the prizes.

9 years ago
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I've played around 50%. It's not that I'm not going to play them, it's just that I NEVER use/read/play/watch anything new. If I buy a dress, I will hang it in my wardrobe and take it out to look at from time to time, and I'll only start wearing it one year later. Same thing happens when I buy a book or even a snack. I think it all started when my parents got me a beautiful set of Caran D'Ache Prismalo pencils when I was a kid, and I just couldn't bear to use them and 'ruin them'... moral of the story, it's the running joke in my family. :P

9 years ago
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no wins yet, but I am only entering for games that I would like to play. So hopefully when I do win I have something that I am interested in :)

9 years ago
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