42 Fun & Creative Retrospective Icebreakers breaking any Ice
Are you looking for unusual icebreakers for the check-in or retrospective check-in methods for your next retrospective? I’m glad to hear that, because a good, interactive check-in or icebreaker can have a very positive effect on the entire retrospective. That’s why we’ve developed some icebreaker questions to help you with that.
Retrospective Icebreaker Methods, Questions & Icebreakers
Creative kickstart for your retrospective
The retro begins with a warm-up: The first of five phase of a retrospective . Not only as a psychologist I can confirm that the perfect check-in has one goal above all: Create psychological safety. In the best case, even rather introverted team members feel a little more confident after this warm-up phase, making it easier for them to open up during the actual retrospective.
How can you achieve this effect? You could write a book about it, but in short: By showing that everyone on the team is an imperfect human being. Everyone on the team makes mistakes - and that’s perfectly okay. By the way, I actually wrote an eBook about it: 12 workshops for team flow & mindset change .
Creative check-in questions and icebreakers to promote psychological safety
Following this rationale, the very first icebreaker could look like this:
- Looking at the last weeks (or sprint), what was your favorite mistake (that might or might not triggered a learning)?
- Rather indirectly, showing that everyone can learn something new: What have you learned over the last weeks (both private or professionally)?
- Rather indirectly, emphasizing that team members need each other: When was the last time you said “Thank you” tothank you” to a team mate? Name the situation. In case you didn’t yet articulate your thankfulness, do it now.
Of course, not every check-in has to be geared towards this goal. You can also focus on setting the stage for the actual retrospective - or simply making everyone laugh. So here are some more possible questions for the retrospective check-in or icebreaker.
Retrospective Check-in questions, methods & icebreaker classics
The following check-ins and icebreakers are a few classics.
- How has your day been so far?
- In the last week(s): What has given you energy and what has been draining your energy?
- What’s giving you energy and joy at the moment?
- What has surprised you positively lately?
- What makes you excited about this retrospective?
- What was the task that took most of your time last week?
- What was the best moment of your day yesterday?
- Name one good thing and one bad thing about your day so far.
- On a scale of 0 (very bad) to 10 (very good), how ready/focused are you for/on this meeting right now?
Retrospective Check-in Questions & Icebreakers for getting to know each other
If your team doesn’t know each other very well yet, the following icebreakers are a good way to get to know the new team.
- If you could only eat one meal for the rest of the week, what would it be?
- If you had the rest of the day off, what would you do with that time?
- What is a new and interesting thing you dealt with recently?
- What’s been a big news (think of newspapers, TV etc.) lately that you are positively excited about?
More energy in (virtual or remote) space
In my experience, there are certain teams that benefit from becoming a little more active, possibly even physically.
The following smaller exercises or questions go a little more in this direction and should serve as good inspiration.
- Exercise: “Stand up (or raise your hand) if you are in this sprint…”
👉 …have learned a new tool.
👉 …had a small sense of achievement.
👉 …had more meetings than planned. - Exercise: “Draw a cat in 10 seconds with your eyes closed.”
👉 A quick, fun drawing exercise that will make you laugh. - Exercise: “Lightning word association”
👉 The moderator says “sprint”, everyone spontaneously names a word in turn (e.g. stress, fun, bugs, success…).
- Emoji mood check: Everyone shares their current state of mind with an emoji or a suitable image.
- Draw your current mood: Everyone draws their mood on a virtual or real whiteboard.
- GIF competition: Everyone posts a GIF that describes their current state of mind.
- One Word Icebreaker: Everyone describes the last working period with a single word.
- (Virtual) High-Five: Someone raises their hand, says something positive, and the others who feel similarly give a (possibly remote or virtual) high-five - alternatively, they can also stand up.
- Escape room puzzle: You solve a small logical puzzle or brain teaser together.
- My day in one color: Everyone names a color that describes their current state (“Today I feel like blue – calm and focused”).
- Your slogan for the last sprint: Create short, funny advertising slogans (“Code fast, debug later!”).
- What is your Spirit Animal for today: Everyone names an animal that reflects their current energy (“I am a turtle – slow, but getting there!”).
To give you another format: Of course, you can also design the check-in visually. Here, too, methods that stimulate creativity and possibly have a reference to the last Scrum Sprint are suitable.
Retrospective software tools can also help with this. Some of these use flexible whiteboards, others just a retro board. When it comes to good icebreakers, I would recommend integrated options such as Echometer. You can find more on this topic in this post: Online whiteboard vs. retrospective software tools for retrospectives.
Continue in the text: Here you can find some nice examples of retrospective check-in games: From our Retrospective & Health Check Tool - Echometer.
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.
1. Detailed facilitation instructions (Retrospective Games for new Teams)
- Each team member marks the place where they were born and another place (if necessary, on a digital whiteboard, see above).
- Timebox 5 minutes: The team member then thinks of 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 originally 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 correct? - 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 true place of birth.
- At the end, you can delete the "lies" from the map - and you have a nice map with the places of origin of the team, which you might even be able to save on your shared team page.
Scrum Sprint Retrospective Games: Our Sprint Symphony 🎹
16. Remote retrospective game on online whiteboard
Duration: 5-15 minutes | Goal: Setting the stage
The basic idea: If our last sprint were a song, what would the title be? Have the team choose from pre-set songs or create their own titles.
16. Detailed facilitation instructions (good retrospective games)
One of the rather short retrospective games:
- You give the instructions.
- 1-2 minute timebox: Everyone selects a song title from the given list of songs (see screenshot of the whiteboard or below) or takes a different title.
Everyone is free to change the title of a song. For example, someone could change the title "Eye of the tiger" by Survivor to "Eye of the customer" (e.g. because they met the actual customer for the first time). - The person who made a decision first starts explaining their choice and passes it on to the next person until everyone has given feedback.
Possible song titles
- "Something Just Like This" by The Chainsmokers and Coldplay
- "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" by Mike Posner
- "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele
- “The Twist” by Chubby Checker
- "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" by Baccara
- "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO
- "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga
- "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran
- "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets
- "Wind of Change" by Scorpions
- "Silent Night" by Bing Crosby
- "I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas
- "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson (featuring Bruno Mars)
- "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen
- "Time to Say Goodbye" by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman
- "I Don't Care" by Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber
- Your addition...
Retrospective games for distributed teams: Sprint Animals 🐷
Retro game on the online whiteboard
Duration: 5-15 minutes | Goal: Setting the stage
The basic idea: If our last sprint were one of these animal faces, which one would it be? Have the team choose from the given pictures and justify their choice.
The Retrospective Riddle 🕵🏻♂️
7. Online Whiteboard Game (Retrospective Game Ideas)
Duration: 45-90 minutes | Goal: Reflecting on the teamwork in general and the last sprint
The basic idea: A wise wizard has 3 secret, magical questions. Answering these questions would greatly help your team grow as a team. But to find out these questions, the team must first solve 3 puzzles.
7. Detailed facilitation instructions
- You give an overview of the agenda of today's retrospective.
- 3 minute timebox: The first riddle is presented (see whiteboard above or the next toggle below). The team must solve it as quickly as possible. If the team is faster than 2 minutes, the remaining time will be credited to the time to solve the next riddle.
- 5 minute timebox: The first magic question (a creative retrospective question, see below) from our magician is asked.
- 20 minute timebox: Repeat steps 2 and 3 with the second and third riddles, possibly with the remaining time from the last round.
- Choose one of the retro questions from the repertoire. Here are some suggestions for magic questions the magician could ask:
- When I think about my team, what am I not hearing that should be heard?
- What are you grateful for when you think about the last few weeks?
- What would James Bond do if he had the challenges we face?
- Imagine we didn't achieve our team goal. What would have been the reason we didn't achieve it?
- From now on, continue with the typical 5 phases of an agile retrospective.
- Explain thoughts: After everyone is finished answering the last magic question, everyone's thoughts (and notes) are shared. There is no discussion at this point.
- Prioritization: Each team member has 3 digital points to vote. Now place the points where you believe there is still potential 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 - focus on quality rather than quantity (more on this in our post: 7 tips for good measures).
List of puzzles to choose from.
- You want to boil an egg in two minutes. If you only have a three-minute timer (hourglass), a four-minute timer and a five-minute timer, how can you cook the egg for exactly two minutes?
- Answer: As soon as the water boils, start the three-minute timer and the five-minute timer. When the three-minute timer expires, put the egg in the boiling water. When the five-minute timer expires, two minutes have passed and it's time to take the egg out of the water. You don't need the four-minute timer for this puzzle.
- Two fathers and two sons went fishing one day. They were there all day and only caught 3 fish. One father said that's enough for all of us, we'll each take one. How is that possible?
- Answer: There's the father, his son, and the son of that son. That makes 2 fathers and 2 sons, so 3 in total!
- Attention, only works in English: Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I? Translation: Forward I am heavy, but backward I am not. What am I?
- The word "Ton" in English.
- Attention, only works in English: Which of the following words don't belong in the group and why? CORSET, COSTER, SECTOR, ESCORT, COURTS
- Courts. All others are anagrams of each other.
- A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for 5 minutes. Finally, she hangs him. But 5 minutes later, the two of them go out together and enjoy a nice dinner together. How is that possible?
- Answer: The woman is a photographer. She took a picture of her husband, developed it, and hung it up to dry.
- Attention, only works in English and by reading aloud: There are 30 cows in a field, and 28 chickens. How many didn't?
- Listen carefully: 30 cows, and twenty-eight chickens. Say EIGHT and ATE (eaten). That sounds identical. So that means 20 cows ate chickens. 30-20=10, so 10 cows didn't eat chickens.
- Sometimes I am born in silence, other times not. I am unseen, but I make myself known. Over time, I disappear without a trace. I don't harm anyone, but I am unpopular with everyone. And what am I?
- Answer: A fart.
- Attention, only works in English: I am six letters. If you take one away, I am twelve. And what am I?
- The word "Dozens".
- What kind of music do rabbits listen to?
- Fun answer: Hip-hop.
Fun Retro Games Agile: Movie Time 🍿
18. Remote retrospective game on online whiteboard
Duration: 5-15 minutes | Goal: Setting the stage
The basic idea: If our last sprint were a movie, what would the title be? Let the team choose from pre-determined films or come up with their own titles.
18. Detailed facilitation instructions (fun retrospective games)
A simple, good retrospective game:
- You give the instructions.
- 1-2 minute time window: Everyone chooses a film title from the given list of films (see screenshot of the whiteboard or toggle below) or takes another title.
Everyone is free to change the title of a film. For example, someone could change the title "Lord of the rings" to "Lord of the bugs". - The person who made a decision first starts to explain their choice and passes it on to the next person until everyone has given feedback.
List of suitable movie titles
- Goldfinger
- Titanic
- Lord of the Rings
- Back to the future
- Rain Man
- Avatar
- The Birth of a Nation
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Paranormal Activity
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- Furious 7
- Gone with the Wind
- Doctor Zhivago
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
- ...
If you like this game you can find more here: The 15 Best Online Retrospective Games . Feel free to check them out 🙂
Fun & creative Retrospective Check In Questions & Icebreakers
- Explain the course of your week as a weather report and forecast.
- What adjective best describes your current emotional state?
- If your last week were a movie - what would the title be?
- If your last week were a song - what would it be called?
- If your last week were a newspaper report - what would the headline be?
- Describe the latest revelation you had.
- With whom in our organization would you like to switch roles tomorrow and why?
Quick health check’s can also be a fun check-in for retrospective. In health checks, different statements are presented to the team and each team member expresses agreement on a scale.
It must be added that one has often already drifted into the data-gathering phase and discussions - but that’s not so bad.
You can open a Health Check Retrospective Check-In directly with our Health Check & Retro tool Echometer and run it online with your team (Echometer- without registration). Here, for example, is our template on the topic of team spirit - feel free to take a look:
Note: This retrospective format asks for agreement with the given Health Check items on a scale.
- Appreciation: My colleagues appreciate my contribution to the team.
- Team Spirit: There is a trusting working atmosphere in our team.
- Transparency: Everyone in my team knows who is currently working on what.
- Recovery & Breaks: I have enough room for breaks in which I can draw new energy.
- Meeting culture: Our meetings are well structured, yet leave room for creativity and new ideas.
- Support: In my team, each team member passes on their individual knowledge and experience.
Conclusion - Retrospective Check-In Questions
I hope this has given you some ideas for your next retrospective. If you’d like to try more interactive check-ins (remote and in-office), feel free to visit the linked post on the best retrospective formats for any situation: 3 interactive check-ins on a whiteboard . By the way, we also have many seasonal retrospective ideas in our tool (for example: 6 Thanksgiving Retrospective Ideas ) - just take a look and browse a little.
By the way, if you are still looking for a suitable retro board (with 60+ agile retrospective formats), this post can help you: Comparing the 6 best retrospective boards
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