How to Use HowLongToBeat to Actually Finish More Games

July 2026 · 8 min read

You've probably clicked through to a HowLongToBeat page at some point — maybe to check whether a game was worth the price, or to settle an argument about how long an RPG "really" takes. But most people glance at one number, close the tab, and never think about the other two numbers sitting right next to it. That's a missed opportunity, because those three numbers are one of the best backlog-planning tools available, if you know how to read them.

This guide breaks down what HowLongToBeat's numbers actually measure, why the gaps between them matter more than the numbers themselves, and how to use them to plan realistic sessions instead of staring at a 40-game backlog with no idea where to start.

What is HowLongToBeat?

HowLongToBeat is a community-driven database that tracks how long games take to complete, based on time submissions from players who've actually played them. It covers well over 100,000 games, from decades-old classics to day-one releases, and for most titles it reports three separate completion times rather than a single number.

That's the part people skip past. A single "average playtime" figure hides more than it reveals, because "finishing" a game can mean wildly different things depending on how much of it you actually want to see. HowLongToBeat splits that out, which is exactly what makes it useful for backlog planning rather than just trivia.

It's also worth knowing where the numbers come from, because that context changes how much weight you should give them. HowLongToBeat doesn't time your session automatically — players submit their own completion times after finishing a game, tagged as Main Story, Main + Extras, or Completionist depending on how they played. Enough submissions accumulate over time that the averages settle into something reasonably stable for popular titles, though brand-new releases or niche games can still show wide swings until more people weigh in.

The three numbers that actually matter

Every well-populated HowLongToBeat page shows three core stats, usually displayed side by side near the top of the game's entry. Understanding what each one measures — and, more importantly, what it deliberately leaves out — is the whole trick to using the site well.

Main Story

This is the average time it took submitters to reach the credits by sticking to the critical path — the missions, objectives and story beats required to finish the game. Side content, optional bosses, collectibles and detours aren't counted. Main Story is the leanest, most honest "how long until I'm done with this" number on the page.

Main + Extras

This adds in the significant side content most players naturally engage with along the way — meaningful side quests, extra bosses, some exploration — without going for full completion. It's a decent estimate of what a normal, curious playthrough looks like rather than a speedrun straight to the ending.

Completionist

This is the number for 100%-ing the game: every side quest, every collectible, every achievement or trophy, every optional dungeon. For some tightly-scoped games it barely differs from Main Story. For open-world or loot-heavy games, it can be four or five times longer.

The size of that gap also tells you something about the kind of game you're looking at, before you've read a single review. A linear action game or a tightly-scoped indie title often has Main Story and Completionist numbers that sit close together — there's simply not much extra content to chase. A modern open-world RPG or a live-service loot game, on the other hand, can have a Completionist time that's three, four, even five times the Main Story number. Neither is better, but they demand very different amounts of your free time, and checking the gap before you commit saves you from starting something that doesn't fit your schedule.

This is also why it's worth glancing at HowLongToBeat before you add a game to your backlog, not just after you've stalled halfway through it. A quick check can tell you whether a game is a realistic weekend project or a multi-month commitment, which changes how — and whether — it fits into your current lineup.

How to actually use these numbers to plan your backlog

Knowing what the numbers mean is only half the job. The other half is building a couple of simple habits around checking them, so backlog planning stops being a guessing game.

Match Main Story time to the time you actually have

Before you pick your next game, be honest about the week ahead. If you've got a free Saturday and Sunday, that's realistically 6-10 hours of actual play. Look for something with a Main Story time in that range rather than picking whatever's been sitting at the top of your list the longest. Matching the game to the time slot, instead of the other way around, is the single biggest habit change that gets backlogs moving.

The same logic works in reverse for busy stretches. If you know the next couple of weeks are going to be mostly work and errands with maybe an hour here or there, this isn't the time to start a 50-hour tactics RPG. Pick something with a Main Story time that matches short, scattered sessions instead — you'll actually make progress rather than opening the game once, feeling like you've barely dented it, and closing it again.

It helps to think in terms of sessions rather than total hours. A 10-hour Main Story game is roughly four to five evening sessions for most people, or a single dedicated weekend. A 25-hour game is more like two to three weekends, or several weeks of shorter weeknight play. Framing it that way makes the number feel like a plan instead of an abstract statistic.

Use Main Story as your honest clearing number — not Completionist

This is the mistake that quietly kills more backlogs than anything else. If you plan around Completionist time, every game becomes a 40-, 60-, or 80-hour project, and "finishing" starts to feel unreachable before you've even installed it. Main Story is the number that reflects what it actually takes to see the ending and move on. Treat 100% completion as a bonus goal reserved for the handful of games you genuinely love — not the default bar for every title in your library.

Batch short games between longer ones

If your backlog is full of 30-plus hour RPGs, momentum can stall fast — you finish one, feel drained, and the backlog stops moving for weeks. Deliberately slot in games with a Main Story time under about 8 hours between the longer ones. Finishing something in a weekend gives you a genuine sense of progress and makes it easier to start the next big commitment instead of putting it off.

If you want a ready-made list of short Main Story games to start with, we've already pulled together 38 short games you can finish this weekend — all picked specifically because their Main Story times fit inside a couple of sittings.

Re-check the number when you're stuck, not just when you start

It's also worth pulling up HowLongToBeat mid-playthrough, not only before you start. If you're 15 hours into a game and losing steam, checking how much Main Story time is typically left can be the difference between pushing through to a satisfying ending and quietly letting the game slide back into "backlog" status forever. Sometimes the honest answer is "you're nearly there" — and sometimes it's "this is genuinely a 50-hour game and it's fine to stop now." Either way, knowing which one you're dealing with makes the decision easier.

Skip the manual lookup

Checking HowLongToBeat manually for every game in your backlog gets tedious fast, especially if you're juggling dozens of titles across PS5, Switch, Xbox and PC. Game Backlog fetches and displays HowLongToBeat completion times automatically on every game page and every entry in your backlog — Main Story, Main + Extras and Completionist, right where you're already looking, with no extra tab or search required.

That matters more than it sounds like. When the numbers are sitting right next to the game in your backlog list, you actually use them when deciding what to play next, instead of forgetting they exist. It turns "check HowLongToBeat" from an extra chore into something that just happens automatically every time you glance at your library.

Combined with the recommendation engine, that means you can filter what to play next by genre fit and by how much time it'll actually take — a much more realistic way to plan than scrolling a wishlist and guessing. Add a game from any platform, and both the taste-matching and the time estimate are already there waiting for you.

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