New Steam Spring Cleaning Event Helps You Clear That Pesky Backlog

Valve's latest Steam event, Spring Cleaning, has begun and will continue until May 28 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST. The event allows you to play several select games for free, and also complete specific tasks to earn badges.

In Spring Cleaning, you can unlock three different unique profile badges for your Steam account. The first badge is unlocked after you've completed five tasks, the second badge at 10, and the third at 15. There are a total of 17 tasks, so you have a bit of choice when it comes to which ones you complete.

Three daily tasks will require you log in four different times to fully complete, thus making up 12 of the 17 total tasks. The first, Speed Clean, is perhaps the easiest. All you have to do is play the free games offered during Spring Clean. There are some pretty good ones on the list, such as Left 4 Dead 2 and Black Desert Online. The other two require you to have used Steam for buying and playing games before. Spin Cycle tasks you with playing games from your Steam library that Valve will randomly pick out for you. Clear the Backlog, on the other hand, can only be completed by playing a game that you bought but never actually tried.

The remaining five tasks are not daily challenges and can only be completed once. To complete Nostalgia, you'll need to play a game that you've already invested two hours into but "haven't played in a while." To nab Can't Wait, you have to play a game you've purchased in the last six months, regardless if you've played it or not. Trusted Friend wants you to play a game that a Steam friend recommended to you, and Tag Contributor asks you to play a game you've applied a tag to or created a tag for. Last year's Blast From The Past task is back, once again asking you to play the first game you bought on Steam. If you happened to complete this task last year, then this year you must play the second game you bought on Steam.