Three Little Pigs
45 min- House of straw: what's fragile
- House of sticks: what needs shoring up
- House of bricks: what's solid
- The wolf: what could blow it down
Best for: Spotting fragile systems and processes
12 formats
Fun Retrospective Ideas
These boards wrap a normal retro in a theme: a voyage, a mission, a road trip or a time of year. They're brand-free, with no film, TV or game characters to explain, and every column still asks a real question about the sprint. Use them for a lighter retro that still ends with action items.
Hot Air Balloon
45 min- What lifts us up
- What weighs us down
- Storms ahead
- Where we want to go
Best for: Seeing what drives and drags the team
Speed Car
30 min- What speeds us up
- What slows us down
- Hazards on the road
- How we get past them
Best for: Teams focused on delivery speed
Mountain Climber
45 min- Base camp: where we are now
- What helps us climb
- Obstacles on the way
- Gear we're missing
- The summit we're aiming for
Best for: Long goals with a clear end point
Space Mission
30 min- Launch: what got us off the ground
- In orbit: what ran smoothly
- Asteroids: what hit us
- Next planet: where we head next
Best for: Livening up a routine retro
Road Trip
30 min- Where we planned to go
- Smooth stretches
- Detours and potholes
- What we need to refuel
Best for: Looking back on a long stretch of work
Pirate Voyage
30 min- Treasure we found
- Shout-outs for the crew
- Rough seas
- Our course for next sprint
Best for: Celebrating wins with a light touch
Superheroes
30 min- Our superpowers
- Our weak spots
- The villain we're up against
- Gear we need
Best for: Spotting what the team is great at
Halloween
30 min- Treats: what went sweetly
- Tricks: what scared us
- Cobwebs: what we've neglected
- What we'll carve out next
Best for: The retro closest to Halloween
Winter Holidays
45 min- Gifts: what we're thankful for
- What left us cold
- What lit the way
- Wishes for the new year
Best for: The last retro before the holidays
New Year
45 min- What we're proud of from last year
- What we're leaving behind
- Resolutions for this year
- How we'll keep them
Best for: The first retro of the year
Spring Clean
30 min- What needs a clean-up
- What to throw out
- What to plant
- What to water
Best for: Clearing out process clutter
How to choose
Most themed boards ask the same few questions through a different picture, so pick the picture that fits your sprint.
- Delivery speed. Speed Car asks what sped the team up, what slowed it down and which hazards lie ahead.
- Fragile systems or processes. Three Little Pigs sorts things into straw, sticks and bricks, then asks what the wolf could blow down. Engineering teams get the most out of it.
- A big goal ahead. Hot Air Balloon and Mountain Climber both look ahead. Mountain Climber adds a column for gear you're missing.
- Celebrating. Pirate Voyage opens with treasure and shout-outs for the crew. Superheroes starts with each person's strengths.
- A long stretch of work. Road Trip compares the planned route with the detours and potholes.
- Just something different. Space Mission covers launch, orbit and asteroids, a fresh coat of paint on a standard retro.
- The calendar. Halloween has treats, tricks and cobwebs. Winter Holidays is our take on a Christmas retro, for the last one before the December break. New Year is for the first one back, and Spring Clean is for throwing out process clutter.
When a theme helps, and when it gets in the way
A theme helps when the usual columns have gone stale and the notes repeat. A new picture makes people look at the same sprint from another side: "cobwebs" turns up neglected chores that "what didn't go well" never does. It also helps a new team relax, and makes the last retro before a holiday feel like a small break.
A theme gets in the way when:
- The sprint was hard. After an incident, layoffs or a missed launch, pirate jokes feel dismissive. Use Mad Sad Glad instead.
- The picture becomes the topic. If someone asks whether a note is an asteroid or a storm, say either column is fine and move on.
- You use one every sprint. The novelty wears off fast. Every four to six sprints is plenty.
- It replaces the follow-up. A themed retro still needs one or two real action items with owners.
In Retro Rabbit, pick the theme from the format library in your Team Room's Settings before the retro, then switch back to your usual format afterward. For a warm-up that fits the mood, see retrospective icebreakers.
Frequently asked questions
Are themed retrospectives just for fun?
No. Each column still asks a real question, such as what slowed you down or what's fragile. The theme changes the angle, which often brings out notes a standard board misses.
Do these boards use characters from films or games?
No. They're brand-free themes built on everyday ideas like a road trip, a space mission or a season, so nobody needs to know a franchise to join in.
When should we run a holiday retrospective?
Run Halloween in the retro closest to October 31, Winter Holidays in the last retro before the December break, and New Year in the first retro back. Skip the theme if the sprint was rough.
More formats by goal
Try any of these with your team
Your team adds notes during the sprint, CarrotIQ groups and summarizes them and suggests action items, and unfinished items carry into the next retro.
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