6 Great Retrospective Games for Distributed Teams
You are searching for some great Retrospective Games for distributed teams? Then you’ve come to the right place. Because we have quite a few retrospective games and ideas on our website (See post: The 15 best retrospective games ).
Before we start with our 6 retrospective games, let’s align on what actually makes good retrospective games? In our view, good retrospective ideas have 5 characteristics:
- Interactive: Really good retrospective games are characterized by the fact that each 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 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 aka icebreaker, you won’t say anything in the entire retro.
- Teamwork: Good 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 (privately), thus indirectly strengthening psychological safety in the team (see article: Psychological Safety in Agile Teams ). Or the retrospective methods and games let the team jointly master 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: 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 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 choose the right retrospective check-ins or icebreakers. So, that’s enough now. The heading promised you - here are the 6 new retrospective methods:
- Our sprint as an elephant
- Our favorite year
- The weather retro
- Team Health Check Radar
- Born to lie
- The Mad Sad Glad Retro
New Retrospective Games & Ideas
Retrospective games for distributed teams
Game 1: Our sprint as an elephant 🐘
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 elephant best summarizes the last sprint.
Detailed facilitation instructions
- As a moderator, explain the rules to each team member: In front of you on the Echometer Whiteboard are some pictures of elephants. Which one best suits the last sprint, from the gut? The reasons for choosing a picture are relatively unimportant.
- Everyone chooses a picture by creating a sticky on the whiteboard by double-clicking.
- Now everyone briefly explains in one or two sentences why they chose the respective picture. The decision does not have to be "logical" - it's about capturing the emotional state and creating a good atmosphere for discussion.
- The respective check-in of the team members is neither evaluated nor commented on - laughter is of course allowed. At most, something interesting is written down to be used again in the later part of the retrospective.
- Now we continue with the next phase of the retrospective, the "Data Gathering" (For 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).
Retrospective games for distributed teams
Game 2: Our favorite year 🥳
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 discussion or a few laughs. It's about getting to know each other better: What's your favorite year and why?
Detailed facilitation instructions
You can see the basic idea of this retrospective game well on the online whiteboard above, including some examples:
- Each team member thinks about what their favorite year was. It can be a historical year or a current year. The goal of the whole thing is that team members, who may also be several generations apart, get to know each other better.
Retrospective games for distributed teams
Game 3: The Weather Retro ❄️
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 related to them, each team member reflects on the last sprint on the online whiteboard. In this case, there are 4 different weather conditions that summarize the last sprint surprisingly well.
Detailed facilitation instructions
- As the 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.
- Sun: What made you happy?
- Rain: What's annoying you?
- Thunder: What is dangerous or could become so?
- Umbrella: What should we prepare for?
- 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 Gathering," can also take place asynchronously before the retro in the form of a digital survey.
- 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 voting and measures are derived (To the article: 5 phases of a retrospective). The Echometer Retro Tool can help you with all of this.
Recommendations from our Retro Tool Idea collection
Within our agile retrospective and health check tool Echometer we have very many retrospective games and ideas (See website: Comparing the 6 best retrospective tools ).
That’s why we’ve added 3 more 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!
Retrospective games for distributed teams
Remote Retrospective Game 4: The Team Health Check 📈
12. Retro game on whiteboard (Scrum Retro Game ideas)
Duration: 45-90 minutes | Goal: Reflecting on teamwork and agile processes
The basic idea: Why don't you do a health check in your team's retrospective? It can be fun, depending on what you ask. Everyone simply indicates (for example, in the Echometer tool) how they rate a certain topic on a scale of 1 to 7!
Detailed facilitation instructions
- You select a series of statements about behaviors that you think the team could improve (see below, second toggle). These are e.g. the things that are asked in the Spotify Health Check.
- Of course, you can change these questions and make some of them funnier or more creative.
- Everyone indicates how much they agree with these statements on the Echometer scale from 1 to 7.
- The results are shown in the graph. Now everyone is asked to explain the results:
"How do you explain the highest approval from your personal point of view? And the lowest voting?" - When you have gone through all the points of the Health Check and discussed them, continue with the typical 5 phases of an agile retrospective.
- Explain thoughts: After everyone is done with this part, everyone shares their thoughts (and notes) in turn. There is no discussion at this point.
- Prioritization: Each team member has 3 digital points to vote. Now put the points where you see a need for improvement.
- Discussion: Discuss the areas that received the most votes. Would you like to write down a measure?
- Measures: Name a specific person who is responsible for this measure. I recommend not recording more than 3 measures - concentrate on quality rather than quantity (more on this in our article 7 tips for good measures).
List of appropriate statements
- We deliver great results! We are proud of it and our stakeholders are very satisfied.
- Our way of working suits us perfectly.
- We get things done really fast. No waiting, no delays.
- The planning of our sprints is always based on achieving the greatest possible customer benefit in the given time.
We also share unfinished work with stakeholders early on to get feedback as quickly as possible.
- Every member of the development team makes an appropriate contribution to the sprint plannings.
- We are open to constructive feedback and can grow from it.
- Courage: We appreciate it when someone shows courage.
- Respect: We value each other's ideas, even if we disagree.
- Commitment: Each team member is committed to keeping promises.
- Focus: We don't let ourselves be distracted from pursuing the sprint goal.
- Openness: We are open to constructive feedback and can grow from it.
- We have a constructive exchange of knowledge between newer and more experienced colleagues.
Retrospective games for distributed teams
Remote Retrospective Game 5: Born to lie 🙂
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
- Each team member marks the place where they were born and another place (if necessary on a digital whiteboard, see above).
- Timebox 5 minutes: Then the team member comes up with an explanation for both places 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 United States shortly after my birthday because my father started working here.
Both sound logical - which fact is true? - 1 minute timebox per person: The explanation for the two places is given one after the other. After one person has told the truth and a lie, everyone on the team guesses which place is the real birthplace.
- In the end, you can delete the "lies" from the map - and you have a beautiful map with the team's places of origin, which you can even save on your shared team page.
Retrospective games for distributed teams
The "Mad Sad Glad" retrospective method is one of the classics of retrospective methods. Three emotions are named that help to analyze the last sprint. This retrospective idea does not take place on an Echometer whiteboard, but on an Echometer Retro Board with 3 columns (see article: 6 Retrospective Boards in Comparison).
- Mad: What made you angry?
- Sad: What made you sad?
- Glad: What made you happy?
So, we are done with the presentation of the 6 Retrospective games for distributed teams. But is that all? No, it isn’t.
More Retrospective Ideas & Games
As mentioned, we have many more retrospective ideas and games both on our website and within our Echometer tool.
If you’re interested in more Retrospective games, be sure to check out our post with the 15 best games (See post: The 15 best Retrospective games ).
Post: 15 Best Retrospective GamesOften 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 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 in:
Retrospective games for distributed teams: conclusion
Fun in agile Scrum retrospectives and icebreakers is good and useful and hopefully this post has given you some inspiration… But to improve Scrum Sprints process-wise sustainably, “fun” is not enough.
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 .
