I don't get a ton of gaming time, maybe 2 hours a week, and rarely more than 30 minutes in a single sitting.

I have this massive backlog of games that I have never played, but when I sit down to play, I get a bit overwhelmed by the choices of what to play. In the end I usually wind up playing Warband, Baldurs Gate, or one of the Goats (Escape 1 or 2 or Simulator). Seriously, Baldurs Gate. How am I ever going to get through any of the new games when I'm still throwing time at a game I've been playing for 15+ years.

Anyone else have trouble starting new games?

Yes, sometimes - too many choices. Whenever I finally make a choice, though, I'm usually delighted for a while (assuming the game doesn't suck). My favorite part of games is often the beginning.

This is a problem I don't have and don't want to have. I have a little more time than you, yet I only spend it on one game at a time. That goes for anything really, not just games. Having a backlog means you're constantly fighting for game time, and in my experience, means you don't really get to sit down and savor the moment of having finished any game out of your dozens.

Doesn't exist in my vocabulary.

If a game interests you, play it. If you think you're spending too long on one game, drop it for something you can actually finish. That's my mindset, focus on one game at a time. No distractions.

Yes! I feel your pain!! I know how frustrating it is not to have decent quality time with my games and/or backlog.

Another problem: Not finishing games because I don't want them to end. Instead, I'll start one and for one reason or another I'll put it off continuing to play it. By the time I get back into it, I go back to the beginning, re-read the large manual, start fresh. I've done this to one game in particular twice now.

I think this started a long time ago with a text adventure, The Wishmaster, which sucked me in, I ended up completing it in a day. Also, I don't like multi-tasking games.

Just gotta keep on trucking. Keep your head in the present, if you can finish it, you can, if not, you just keep going.

Divide your collection into multiple collections. For example, collection A, collection B, collection C....then focus only on collection A until all the games in collection A are completed. While you focus on collection A, all the other collections must be dead to you. After you are done with collection A, do the same thing with collection B.

I've got a backlog, too. I'm not even really that good at games, but Backloggery has helped a lot with sticking with one at a time. I definitely think tackling them one at a time is the best way to go about it, or as close to one at a time as you can. It helps to divide it up into chunks, too. This year I just focused on beating all of my Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, and I did it...even though I thought a few of them would just be too hard to clear. I don't think I've EVER beaten twenty games in a year before, so tracking your progress really does help.

One thing I do stick by is that I only get games that can be completed now. I know I'd really like Minecraft, and would sink hundreds of hours into it, so I will probably never own it. Stuff like MMOs and puzzle games and sports and racing and fighting games are just off the table entirely. I prefer a narrative format, though, so it's an easy sacrifice to make. Your tastes may vary. It might also be a good idea to just not finish games if you don't like them, which is the thing I'm really bad at. I just really like winning them, even when they're bad. We've all got stuff we can cut back on like that, I'm sure.

If I had only 4x 30 mins per week then it might be difficult to start something new. It usually takes a bit of time to get into something, be it a new pc game, a new music album or whatever.

I'm usually excited to start a new game that I haven't played before.

That word. B̶a̶c̶k̶l̶o̶g̶. This here is an important point. I hate the term b̶a̶c̶k̶l̶o̶g̶. It needs to be stricken from people's gaming vocabulary and we should think of our game collections in a healthier light, not as a chore list to plow through. For most of us, games are supposed to be about having fun, whereas b̶a̶c̶k̶l̶o̶g̶ implies work and being behind in something. It's a depressing term, particularly since in this current day and age of digital distribution, it is basically impractical or unhealthy to ever "clear" one's b̶a̶c̶k̶l̶o̶g̶. Unless you are a game reviewer, developer, tester, or something along those lines, a gaming b̶a̶c̶k̶l̶o̶g̶ should not exist. You simply have a collection of games.

Now that we have that out of the way, there still exists the problem of having an overwhelming number of choices. This is not a problem exclusive to gaming. We are bombarded on all sides these days with so many potentially interesting choices... indeed, too much to do, not enough time.

So what can we do? Well, I think it is helpful to keep in mind realistically how much time you can or want to spend gaming (which you have already done), and then to have a goal in mind with what you want to get out of your limited gaming time.

With just 2 hours of gaming time per week, it seems like you are mostly using your gaming time to unwind and relax. In which case, just playing something relaxing and familiar might be the best thing to do. So just keep playing what makes you happy -- in this case Baldur's Gate. I wouldn't really worry so much about your game collection, and don't feel pressured that you actually need to try any of those games until you actually have some time or desire to do it. I would recommend however that if you are going to continue buying new games and you are not currently tracking your collection in any way you should begin doing so with a spreadsheet or some collection management software or website.

If, on the other hand, you decide you want to really make a go of some of the new games you have in your collection, then you need to commit to that and carefully plan how you will spend your 30 minute gaming sessions. Definitely prioritize your games, and then also realize that it will probably take you 2-3 or more months to finish any game that requires 10+ hours to complete. That means you have 4-6 games a year that you will actually be able to finish currently. So maybe just choose the 4-6 most appealing games in your collection currently, and get cracking on those. All the rest? They will still be there for another time, but you will not be playing them for now because you've already made your choice to try the games that currently appeal to you the most.

My biggest downfall is MMO's, they seriously eat into SP game time, creating backlogs.

Only thing I can think of is make one or two gaming slots (at the start of a long game) that are significantly large enough for the game to suck you into its atmosphere and storyline, hopefully then you will be engrossed enough to make more effort to complete it.

To me that sounds the same as saying that I could be online (internet) only max 2 hours a week, and not more than 30 minutes at a time. Or watch TV only 2 hours a week.

If I could play only that little, I'd probably play just some quick mobile casual games. One sitting usually eats at least 2-3 hours, if I fire up some RTS or RPG. I've lately replayed also X-Wing, and it is a bit better because I feel I can stop playing if I've cleared one or two missions, because then I feel like I've still made some progress.

It varies a lot for me though. Some days, or weeks, I don't play at all (e.g. there were a few months I didn't play almost at all, during our move, and renovation of the old apartment). Now that things have settled, I usually have more time to game, but most of the time it is restricted to wee hours when I have some private time.

I feel my gaming time competes mostly with watching TV, and browsing internet. Ok web browsing can also be done at various places (even at workplace), and doesn't need that much concentration. I watch quite little TV nowadays, I guess that is why I haven't seen even one episode of Game of Thrones even though there is now an ongoing GoT marathon on TV (they are showing seasons 1-3, before showing season 4).

One thing I am _not_ doing: reading books. That's one thing I really feel I have no time for. If I started reading books, I guess I would have absolutely no time for gaming, nor watching TV. I mainly think: "Ok, so there's this book, it would take maybe one week, or at least several days, to read it. Or then I just watch it as a movie, spending only 2 hours on it.". Yes yes, I know it isn't the same, but movies just feel a less time-consuming way to experience stories.

I have to say I am the complete opposite. I hate starting a new game and being bombarded with all the tutorials and introductory stuff. When I used to only have a few new games a year the excitement of a new game outweighed the annoyance of pre game tutorials but now I seem to spend most of gaming time having my hand held and having basic concepts explained to me...
But I never want to skip anything in case there are new ideas or mechanics I might miss out on...

I suppose I need to just stick with a game instead of immediately starting a different one when I get something new and shiny.

I usually play the first one in alphabetical order that I like in that day.

I feel your pain. I too have very little time to play and a huge backlog, which keeps growing despite trying to abstain from buying games.

Sometimes you just have to push yourself into playing something that you KNOW you want to play even though you don't feel it at that particular moment.
Games can really reward you for that one second of bravery it takes to double-click that icon that has been waiting patiently (years and years) for you.