diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index cc613a9..b29c3ab 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@ To Be Played is split into three repositories:
   Steam avatar and a banner from the most played game of the last two weeks, and an achievement card: unlocked
   total, perfect games, average completion and the 5 games closest to 100 %.
 - **What to play next** (`/play-next`): three backlog picks for a time budget (up to 5 / 15 / 40 h or any) and a mood
-  (story, co-op, chill, action, scary from IGDB; speedrun from speedrun.com), high priority first, reroll without
-  repeats, and "Start playing" in one click.
+  (story, co-op, chill, action, scary from IGDB; speedrun from speedrun.com). Each pick says why: like a game you
+  played a lot, waiting longest, or random. Reroll without repeats, and "Start playing" in one click.
 - **Your stats** (`/stats`): totals and statuses; the pile in hours, in weeks at your pace of the last 90 days and in
   years of full-time work, and its oldest unplayed game; most played and most loyal games; top genres and moods;
   trips to the moon, the longest gaming day, games started but under one hour; finished games per year; games per platform.
diff --git a/public/i18n/de.json b/public/i18n/de.json
index 2e3fbf4..7bafe7a 100644
--- a/public/i18n/de.json
+++ b/public/i18n/de.json
@@ -409,7 +409,12 @@
   },
   "PLAY_NEXT": {
     "TITLE": "Was spiele ich als Nächstes?",
-    "SUBTITLE": "Drei Spiele aus deinem Backlog, hohe Priorität zuerst. Wähle eine Länge und eine Stimmung.",
+    "SUBTITLE": "Drei Spiele aus deinem Backlog: eins wie ein Spiel, das du viel gespielt hast, das am längsten wartende und eins zufällig. Wähle eine Länge und eine Stimmung.",
+    "REASON": {
+      "SIMILAR": "Weil du {{name}} gespielt hast ({{playtime}})",
+      "LONGEST": "Auf deiner Liste seit {{date}}",
+      "RANDOM": "Zufallstreffer"
+    },
     "BUDGET_LABEL": "Spieldauer",
     "BUDGET": {
       "SHORT": "Bis 5 h",
diff --git a/public/i18n/en.json b/public/i18n/en.json
index 1d1bd8d..909fc51 100644
--- a/public/i18n/en.json
+++ b/public/i18n/en.json
@@ -409,7 +409,12 @@
   },
   "PLAY_NEXT": {
     "TITLE": "What to play next",
-    "SUBTITLE": "Three games from your backlog, high priority first. Pick a length and a mood.",
+    "SUBTITLE": "Three games from your backlog: one like a game you played a lot, the one waiting longest, and one at random. Pick a length and a mood.",
+    "REASON": {
+      "SIMILAR": "Because you played {{name}} ({{playtime}})",
+      "LONGEST": "On your list since {{date}}",
+      "RANDOM": "Random pick"
+    },
     "BUDGET_LABEL": "Time to beat",
     "BUDGET": {
       "SHORT": "Up to 5 h",
diff --git a/src/pages/PlayNextPage.jsx b/src/pages/PlayNextPage.jsx
index 381c3a3..7a216f9 100644
--- a/src/pages/PlayNextPage.jsx
+++ b/src/pages/PlayNextPage.jsx
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import GameCover from '../components/GameCover.jsx';
 import FitText from '../components/FitText.jsx';
 import PageContainer from '../components/PageContainer.jsx';
 import {saveGameStatus} from '../utils/backlog.js';
+import {formatDate} from '../utils/format.js';
 import {formatPlaytime} from '../utils/games.js';
 import {request} from '../utils/api.js';
 import useAbortPrevious from '../hooks/useAbortPrevious.js';
@@ -174,6 +175,20 @@ export default function PlayNextPage() {
     );
 }
 
+const reasonText = (reason, t, language) => {
+    if (!reason) return null;
+    if (reason.source === 'SIMILAR') {
+        return t('PLAY_NEXT.REASON.SIMILAR', {
+            name: reason.anchorName ?? `App ${reason.anchorAppid}`,
+            playtime: formatPlaytime(reason.anchorPlaytimeMinutes),
+        });
+    }
+    if (reason.source === 'LONGEST') {
+        return t('PLAY_NEXT.REASON.LONGEST', {date: formatDate(reason.firstSeenAt, language, {dateStyle: 'medium'})});
+    }
+    return t('PLAY_NEXT.REASON.RANDOM');
+};
+
 const emptyKey = (budget, mood) => {
     // With a length limit, waiting for the background check may never help.
     if (mood === 'SPEEDRUN' && !budget.maxMinutes) return 'PLAY_NEXT.EMPTY_SPEEDRUN';
@@ -182,9 +197,10 @@ const emptyKey = (budget, mood) => {
 };
 
 function PickCard({game}) {
-    const {t} = useTranslation();
+    const {t, i18n} = useTranslation();
     const [busy, setBusy] = useState(false);
     const [started, setStarted] = useState(false);
+    const reason = reasonText(game.reason, t, i18n.language);
 
     const startPlaying = async () => {
         setBusy(true);
@@ -214,6 +230,7 @@ function PickCard({game}) {
                 <Link to={`/library/${game.appid}`} className="@container block min-w-0 font-semibold hover:text-primary transition-colors">
                     <FitText text={game.name ?? `App ${game.appid}`}/>
                 </Link>
+                {reason && <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">{reason}</p>}
                 <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-2 text-sm text-muted-foreground">
                     {game.timeToBeatMinutes > 0 && (
                         <span className="flex items-center gap-1">
diff --git a/src/pages/PlayNextPage.test.jsx b/src/pages/PlayNextPage.test.jsx
index 154a4b4..ff2894f 100644
--- a/src/pages/PlayNextPage.test.jsx
+++ b/src/pages/PlayNextPage.test.jsx
@@ -224,4 +224,27 @@ describe('PlayNextPage', () => {
 
         expect(screen.queryByRole('button', {name: 'PLAY_NEXT.REROLL'})).not.toBeNull();
     });
+
+    it('shows why each game was picked', async () => {
+        mockBackend([[
+            game(1, {reason: {source: 'SIMILAR', anchorAppid: 9, anchorName: 'Celeste', anchorPlaytimeMinutes: 600}}),
+            game(2, {reason: {source: 'LONGEST', firstSeenAt: '2024-03-12T10:00:00Z'}}),
+            game(3, {reason: {source: 'RANDOM'}}),
+        ]]);
+
+        renderPage();
+
+        expect(await screen.findByText('PLAY_NEXT.REASON.SIMILAR')).toBeTruthy();
+        expect(screen.getByText('PLAY_NEXT.REASON.LONGEST')).toBeTruthy();
+        expect(screen.getByText('PLAY_NEXT.REASON.RANDOM')).toBeTruthy();
+    });
+
+    it('shows no reason line for a game without a reason', async () => {
+        mockBackend([[game(1)]]);
+
+        renderPage();
+
+        await screen.findByText('Game 1');
+        expect(screen.queryByText(/PLAY_NEXT\.REASON/)).toBeNull();
+    });
 });