Game and anime timeline question

[Indifference crescendo]

Is there a no-spoiler timeline of the SAO games when they would fit or tie in with certain points within the anime? I just started watching SAO, only on episode 3 at the moment, enjoying it so far, and most likely will want to pick up the games and would like to know where they each start according to the anime.

[NightmareHollow]

Infinity Moment (JP only) or Hollow Fragment starts from an alternative situation to the Anime adaptation's Aincrad Arc. Lost Song, Hollow Realization, Accel World vs Sword Art Online and Fatal Bullet follow on from Hollow Fragment's take on the story. If you want to have some idea of certain characters in the game, then you should watch both seasons, and eventually season 3 next year. If you only want to get as far as where the Anime universe and game universe split off, then you'll only need to watch a minimum of the first 14 episodes.

[Indifference crescendo]

My God, that is a lot of games to get caught up on. Oh geez.

[Enigma]

Not nearly as daunting as it may seem. As noted, the key thing to remember is a timeline split. If you're looking to get yourself caught up to the start of the video game continuity, here are the key points you'll need:

-The SAO anime up to the 13th episode (Edge of Hell's Abyss)
-Plot summary for Hollow Fragment
-Plot summary for Lost Song
-Possibly a character guide

Now, some would argue on watching the 14th episode, but I feel it can be skipped as that is where the timeline split occurs. The events of that episode up to the moment of divergence are covered in short order in Hollow Fragment.

From the sound of things however, it does seem like you are going to stick with the anime. If that's the case, up to the 39th episode would be fine if you want to see nearly every key character in the games. From there, the only character you haven't seen yet is Yuuki. As for game exclusive characters in Kirito's party, there are two to read up on if you just want to dive into Realization without playing HF and LS: Strea and Philia.

I haven't played Accel World vs SAO, but as far as I know it's not key to the ongoing story started in the game continuity. Just don't quote me on that. I wasn't a fan of Lost Song and AWvSAO is using the engine from that game.

Finally, Fatal Bullet was mentioned, but as that game doesn't release for another three months, I wouldn't worry about it yet.

As for a quick rundown of the two continuities if you want a general idea of how they compare:

Anime/Manga
-Aincraid (the original SAO)
-Alfheim Online
-Gun Gale Online
-New ALO
-Ordinal Scale

Games:
-Aincraid (Hollow Fragment)
-Alternate ALO (Lost Song)
-Sword Art: Origins (Hollow Realization)
-Alternate GGO (Fatal Bullet)