How I Manage My Video Games Collection in Notion

Some years ago, I bought a PS4 and got back to gaming after many years without playing consoles. After that, I sold it when the PS5 came around and also got a Switch to play The Legend of Zelda on launch.

That console has been a source of a lot of entertainment.

After all these years, I have spent some money on many games. One day, I decided I wanted to track how much it was, and also if I finished or not that game.

That collection started on Deku Deals, but soon I realized I wanted to track some more things. So, I downloaded its JSON export and imported it to Notion using a JSON to CSV tool I found online.

That Notion database is up to date today, since I use it mainly to track a wishlist of games and their release date, which games I'm playing on each platform, and which are up next after I finish whatever I'm currently playing.

I also track which games are okay and which are fantastic.

I have a Status field which tracks if my game is on my backlog, playing, or not playing. Now Notion allows tracking many substatuses inside of them:

• Wishlist: The game is not in my collection, but I'm interested in it. It may not be released, or may be released, but I'm waiting for a good price.
• Not Started: The game is already in my collection, but I didn't pick it up yet.
• Paused: I've already played this game, but it's on hold for some reason.
• Playing: The game is being played. There is one or two games at the same time on this status, mainly one.
• Completed: I've played the game and finished it.
• Abandoned: I've played the game, but I don't plan to finish it.

I have a Column view to quickly manage and overview the number of games which are on each status, and to move them around if needed. This view is the main one whenever I finish a game and want to start another one.

I also have an Up next view where I filter only the games that are released and which are not Playing or Completed. It's the main view whenever I want to decide what to play next.

It also puts Paused and Wishlist first because those are the games which probably I want to play next.

I have a main Dashboard view where I can see the games currently playing and the games Up Next, but I rarely use them.

Since this is on Notion, I can remotely query this database and extract some lists of games from it.

I've published a Games page sharing my favorite and currently played games. I also want to use this information in an upcoming Now page which I'll publish at some point.