A Matter of Time, Time Played That Is

When people shop for games, they want to know if what they're going to buy is worth the price they're paying. This is just like any product you'd buy, but it's arguably much harder with video games.

Video games are a subjective thing at their heart. How much enjoyment a person has with a game can be drastically different between individuals. Different game genres, art styles, levels of quality, and even developers can make or break a game for some, while others could care less.

So, people do their best to work with the tools available and try to turn a decision that's subjective into as objective a decision as possible. They read reviews written by an author they don't know with scores that are heavily skewed toward the high end of the scale. They watch video footage of gameplay and look at screenshots. Maybe they try a demo. And if they're lucky, they talk to their friends who own the game.

But why don't people share and look at time played? The amount of time someone spends playing a game can be an indicator of if they got their money's worth or not. If someone buys a game and only plays it for an hours or not at all, perhaps it's not worth picking up. At the other end of the spectrum is when a game gets played hours and hours, meaning, for some reason, the player keeps coming back for more. None of this tells you why a game might be good or bad, and you still run into the issue of whether or not you like the same types of games as the person the stats are from. All this considered, it can be used, along with other factors, to help in the selection of games.

Helpfully, Steam keeps track of how long you've played every game in your collection. Below, you'll find a compiled list of every steam game I own and how long I've played each of them. Take it with a grain of salt, especially those games with 0 play time, which could mean I just never found the time to play it.

Game	Time Played
Team Fortress 2	193h 0m
Counter-Strike: Source	130h 0m
Left 4 Dead	84h 0m
Garry's Mod	74h 0m
Terraria	46h 0m
Dragon Age: Origins	34h 0m
Left 4 Dead 2	33h 0m
Sid Meier's Civilization V	30h 0m
TrackMania United	30h 0m
Natural Selection 2	26h 0m
AI War: Fleet Command	21h 0m
Beat Hazard	21h 0m
Portal 2	18h 0m
Fallout: New Vegas	17h 0m
Pirates, Vikings, & Knights II	17h 0m
The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom	15h 0m
Battlefield: Bad Company 2	14h 0m
Global Agenda	14h 0m
AaAaAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity	12h 0m
Aliens vs. Predator	11h 0m
Half-Life 2	11h 0m
Audiosurf	10h 0m
Cities XL 2011	10h 0m
Cogs	10h 0m
Dawn of Discovery - Venice	10h 0m
Portal	9h 0m
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion	8h 0m
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum!	8h 0m
Crysis	7h 0m
Gratuitous Space Battle	7h 0m
Magicka	7h 0m
The Wonderful End of the World	7h 0m
BIT.TRIP BEAT	6h 0m
Front Mission Evolved	5h 0m
The Longest Journey	5h 0m
SimCity 4 Deluxe	5h 0m
Droplitz	4h 0m
Machinarium	4h 0m
Plants vs. Zombies: GOTY	4h 0m
RUSH	4h 0m
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II	4h 0m
Dwarfs!?	3h 0m
1... 2... 3... KICK IT!	2h 0m
Bob Came in Pieces	2h 0m
Day of Defeat: Source	2h 0m
Frozen Synapse	2h 0m
Half-Life 2: Episode One	2h 0m
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale	2h 0m
Solar 2	2h 0m
Super Meat Boy	2h 0m
Torchlight	2h 0m
Fallout 3	1h 55m
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood	1h 43m
Half-Life: Source	1h 37m
Peggle Deluxe	1h 27m
Shatter	1h 21m
Defense Grid: The Awakening	1h 10m
Unreal Tournament 3: Black Edition	1h 6m
Gyromancer	1h 5m
DUNGEONS	1h 3m
Amnesia: The Dark Descent	1h 2m
Flora's Fruit Farm	1h 1m
Half-Life 2: Episode Two	1h 0m
Trine	0h 53m
Galcon Fusion	0h 52m
Sanctum	0h 52m
Osmos	0h 50m
Monday Night Combat	0h 49m
Tomb Raider: Anniversary	0h 47m
Altitude	0h 45m
The Path	0h 32m
DogFighter	0h 30m
Toki Tori	0h 22m
And Yet It Moves	0h 17m
World of Goo	0h 16m
Mini Ninjas	0h 12m
Puzzle Dimension	0h 7m
X3: Reunion	0h 6m
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast	0h 4m
Unreal Tournament 2004	0h 3m
Counter-Strike	0h 2m
Season of Mystery: The Cherry Blossom Murders	0h 1m
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures	0h 0m
The Ball	0h 0m
Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition	0h 0m
BattleStations: Midway	0h 0m
BattleStations: Pacific	0h 0m
Conflicts: Denied Ops	0h 0m
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero	0h 0m
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Deleted Scenes	0h 0m
Crysis Warhead	0h 0m
Crysis Wars	0h 0m
Dark Messiah Might and Magic Multi-Player	0h 0m
Dark Messiah Might and Magic Single Player	0h 0m
Dawn of Discovery	0h 0m
Day of Defeat	0h 0m
Deathmatch Classic	0h 0m
Deus Ex: GOTY	0h 0m
Deus Ex: Invisible War	0h 0m
DiRT 2	0h 0m
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey	0h 0m
Final Fantasy XI	0h 0m
Flotilla	0h 0m
Guild Wars	0h 0m
Half-Life	0h 0m
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch	0h 0m
Half-Life Deathmatch: Source	0h 0m
Half-Life: Blue Shift	0h 0m
Half-Life: Opposing Force	0h 0m
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin	0h 0m
Hitman: Blood Money	0h 0m
Hitman: Codename 47	0h 0m
I-Fluid	0h 0m
Infernal	0h 0m
Just Cause	0h 0m
Just Cause 2	0h 0m
Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days	0h 0m
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men	0h 0m
Killing Floor	0h 0m
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light	0h 0m
The Last Remnant	0h 0m
Order of War	0h 0m
Plain Sight	0h 0m
Project: Snowblind	0h 0m
Rag Doll Kung Fu	0h 0m
Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45	0h 0m
Ricochet	0h 0m
Rogue Trooper	0h 0m
Sam & Max 101: Culture Shock	0h 0m
Sam & Max 102: Situation: Comedy	0h 0m
Sam & Max 103: The Mole, the Mob, and the Meatball	0h 0m
Shellshock 2: Blood Trails	0h 0m
The Ship	0h 0m
Sid Meier's Pirates!	0h 0m
SiN	0h 0m
SiN Episodes: Emergence	0h 0m
SiN Multiplayer	0h 0m
Supreme Commander 2	0h 0m
Team Fortress Classic	0h 0m
Thief: Deadly Shadows	0h 0m
Tidalis	0h 0m
Tomb Raider: Legend	0h 0m
Tomb Raider: Underworld	0h 0m
Unreal Gold	0h 0m
Unreal II: The Awakening	0h 0m
Unreal Tournament: GOTY	0h 0m
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade	0h 0m
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Winter Assault	0h 0m
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War	0h 0m
Yosumin!	0h 0m
	1029h 50m