6 entertaining Agile Retrospective Games | Scrum

Looking for some really fun agile retrospective games for a remote team? Then you’ve come to the right place on our site. Because here and in many other articles, we present fun and, above all, effective agile retrospective games and methods (See article: The 15 best Retrospective games ).

Before we start with our 6 fun virtual retrospective games from today, what actually makes good retrospective games for remote and on-site teams? In our view, good retrospective methods have 5 characteristics:

• Interactive: Really good fun agile retrospective games are characterized by the fact that every participant has to think or become active in order for the game to be successful. It is even better if every team member speaks at least once. This is especially true for fun agile retrospective games in the check-in of the retro (i.e., icebreaker), because the rule of thumb says: If you don’t say anything in the check-in of an icebreaker, you won’t say anything in the entire retro.
• Teamwork: Fun agile retrospective games strengthen team spirit. Two simple mechanisms can help with this - especially in the check-in, the icebreaker of the retro. Either they help team members get to know each other better (personally) and thus indirectly strengthen psychological safety in the team (see article: Psychological Safety in Agile Teams ). Or the retrospective methods and games allow the team to jointly overcome a small challenge - this, of course, also promotes team spirit.
• Positive: In the everyday life of an agile team, there are often enough occasions for stress. For this very reason, the retrospective as a protected space should consciously break out of this pattern. It should basically have the goal of creating a positive mood among team members. This can be achieved, for example, with an icebreaker or a check-in and check-out that puts a smile on team members’ faces. Of course, this does not mean that critical topics should not be addressed; on the contrary, only if successful action items are developed can the good mood be sustainable (See post: 8 Tips for Successful Action Items in Retros ).
• Adequate: Agile virtual retrospective games and ideas should be adapted to the maturity level and the current mood of the team. For example, the particularly creative or metaphorical games are more suitable for teams that have already completed many retros (i.e., tend to have a higher maturity level; see also post: 7 tips when the team doesn’t want to do retros anymore ). In addition, a retrospective game, in which the aim sometimes is to make team members laugh, is of course a bad fit if something negative is currently depressing the mood, such as layoffs. 
• Transition (Optional): Whether the retrospective game is used at the beginning, middle, or end of the retro: It is more professional if it has a concrete reference to the step before and/or after. For example, check-ins or icebreakers are often suitable to get a first feeling for the last agile Scrum Sprint before going into a deeper reflection.

Of course, these characteristics are not mandatory. But they help to select the right retrospective check-ins or icebreakers. So, that’s enough for now. The headline promised you - here are the 6 fun agile retrospective games for virtual teams:

1. Our sprint as music
2. The Emoji TV Show
3. The Animal Retro
4. Team Health Check Radar
5. Born to lie
6. The Mad Sad Glad Retro

Six fun retrospective games & methods (also remote)

You can try out the following formats directly in the Echometer online whiteboard or retro board. We keep the structure deliberately lean: a brief classification, then the template.

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1. Retro game on online whiteboard

Duration: 30-60 minutes | Goal: Fun, reflection of the last Scrum Sprint

The basic idea: This is a classic icebreaker retrospective game for the check-in: It's about capturing the mood regarding the last sprint. The best way to do this is through pictures. In this case, the question is which musician best summarizes the last sprint.

Detailed facilitation instructions expand_more

1. As a moderator, you explain the rules to each team member: In front of you on the Echometer whiteboard are some pictures of musicians. Which one best fits the last sprint? The reasons for choosing a picture are relatively irrelevant.
2. Everyone chooses a picture by creating a sticky on the whiteboard by double-clicking.
3. Now everyone briefly explains in one or two sentences why they chose the respective picture. The decision does not have to be "logical" - it is about capturing the mood and creating a good atmosphere for conversation.
4. The respective check-in of the team members is neither evaluated nor commented on - laughing is of course allowed. At most, something interesting is written down to be used again in the later part of the retrospective.
5. Now we continue with the next phase of the retrospective, the "Data Gathering" (To the article: 5 phases of a retro are not enough). Alternatively, you can also look at the measures of the last retrospective together (for example in the Echometer tool).

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2. Agile Retro game on online whiteboard

Duration: 10-15 minutes | Goal: Getting to know each other, team spirit

The basic idea: This game also serves in particular as an icebreaker, with which you can create a good atmosphere for conversation or a few laughs. Let's get to know team members in a creative way: What is their favorite series or film? And why did you explain it with exactly these emojis?

Detailed facilitation instructions expand_more

You can see the basic idea of this retrospective game on the online whiteboard above, including some examples:

1. First, you explain the rules: Each team member chooses a series or film that they like very much and that is, at best, so popular that other team members know it.
2. Now everyone should not publish their choice directly, but present it in a slightly more complicated way: Namely, with emojis!
3. You can use as many emojis as you want to explain the work. Basically, you can simply copy the emojis from a corresponding website onto the Echometer whiteboard.
4. Everyone should have about 3 to 8 minutes to present their choice. If it is very difficult, an additional hint can be given, which is written down on the whiteboard in a concealed manner.
5. Now it's the team's turn to guess what work is meant. If the solution is not found after one minute, the concealed hint on the Echometer whiteboard can be revealed. After another minute (or longer or shorter, depending on the team size), the result is revealed and briefly explained.
6. This process is repeated for each team member.

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2. Agile Retro game on online whiteboard

Duration: 10-15 minutes | Goal: Getting to know each other, team spirit

The basic idea: This is a so-called Emoji Retro: Based on the emojis and the questions asked about them, each team member reflects on the last sprint on the online whiteboard. In this case, 4 different animals send out different signals - the poodle, the sloth, the skunk and the unicorn.

Detailed facilitation instructions expand_more

1. As a moderator, you explain the rules to each team member: Based on the emojis and the associated questions, each team member reflects on the last Scrum Sprint.
   1. Poodle: What makes us proud?
   2. Sloth: What takes our energy?
   3. Skunk: What stinks?
   4. Unicorn: What puzzle have we not yet solved?
2. Ideally, the feedback is first collected individually and anonymously on the whiteboard (for example, in Echometer). You can use the timer and set it to 3 minutes, for example, so that this part doesn't take too long. By the way: With Echometer, this part, the "data collection," can also take place asynchronously before the retro in the form of a digital survey.
3. In the next step, each team member individually presents the results and the further phases of the retrospective are continued: Topics are discussed, prioritized with the help of a vote, and measures are derived (For the article: 5 Phases of a Retrospective). The Echometer Retro Tool can help you with all of this.

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Recommendations from our Retro Tool Idea collection

Within our agile retrospective and health check tool Echometer we have a lot of fun agile retrospective games and ideas (See website: Comparing the 6 best retrospective tools ). 

That’s why we’ve added 3 more virtual agile retrospective games and methods that go in a slightly different direction. Like our Team Health Check or the classic and simple “Mad, Sad, Glad” retrospective method. Have fun trying them out!

Check-ins aren’t everything – sometimes you need a structured look at collaboration. Here’s a retro format inspired by Spotify Health Check :

Team Health Check 📈

Health Check Questions (Scale)

We deliver great results! We are proud of it and our stakeholders are very satisfied.

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Strongly disagree Strongly agree

Our way of working suits us perfectly.

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Strongly disagree Strongly agree

We get things done really fast. No waiting, no delays.

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Strongly disagree Strongly agree

Open this retro now

Use Echometer’s health check character for this. Here’s a screenshot of what the results discussion of the Health Check looks like.

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1. Retro game on online whiteboard

Duration: 10-20 minutes | Aim: Getting to know each other, analyzing team communication, retrospective games for new teams

The basic idea: Everyone on the team marks two places on a map of the world - and explains why they were born there. The person was really born in one of the places. The other place is a lie.

Detailed facilitation instructions expand_more

1. Each team member marks the place where they were born and another place for themselves (if necessary on a digital whiteboard, see above). 
2. Timebox 5 minutes: The team member then comes up with an explanation for both places as to why they were born there.
   
   For example, Julia Rodriguez could say the following:
   A) As you all know, I was born just around the corner in New York. That's why I work here and visit my family every weekend.
   B) As you all know, my last name is Rodriguez. I'm actually from Mexico, where I was born 39 years ago. My family moved to the USA shortly after my birthday because my father started working here.
   Both sound logical - which fact is true?
   
   
3. 1 minute timebox per person: The explanation for the two places is given one after the other. After a person has told the truth and a lie, everyone on the team guesses which place is the real birthplace.
4. At the end you can delete the "lies" from the map - and you have a nice map with the team's places of origin, which you might even save on your shared team page.

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Mad Sad Glad Retro

What made you mad? 😤

What made you sad? 😢

What made you glad? 🤩

Open this retro now

So, that’s it for the introduction of the 6 fun agile retrospective games. But is that all? No, it isn’t.

More Retrospective Ideas & Games

As mentioned, we have many more agile virtual retrospective games and ideas both on our website and within our Echometer tool. 

If you’re particularly interested in fun agile retrospective games, you should definitely check out our post with the 15 best games (See article: The 15 best Retrospective games ).

Often it is the right questions that are decisive for the quality of a retrospective. That’s why we’ve also created a detailed post with classic, new and creative retrospective questions. These focus in particular on the second phase of the retrospective, “Collecting Data”, not on the check-in or icebreaker or the check-out (To the article: 54 fun retrospective ideas for beginners & professionals ).

Last but not least, I would like to point out that you can usually find the mentioned agile virtual retrospective games in our Retrospective and Health Check Tool Echometer. Some of them are listed as whiteboard templates, others as retrospective boards (i.e. a retrospective board is used). You can access our tool right here without logging:

Sailboat Retro

Kart Racing Retrospective

Good vs. Bad Retro

Discover More Retro Ideas

Fun virtual retrospective games: Conclusion

Fun in agile Scrum retrospectives is good and useful and hopefully this article has given you inspiration. But it’s not enough to improve Scrum Sprints in a sustainable way.

If I may give you, as the person responsible for your team, one more recommendation: take your time in your Sprint Retro to derive good action items (post: 8 Tips for Great Action Items in Retros ). Good action items are a better remedy against “retro fatigue” than retros that are only about fun.

A good retrospective tool will not only help you have fun in agile retrospectives. It will also help you timebox well and derive the right action items. If you’re still looking for such a tool, check out our post: Comparing the 7 best retrospective tools .