The Haunted Retro is a fun, highly visual, Halloween-themed agile retrospective template designed to help teams reflect on their sprint, call out blockers, share wins, and cast action-oriented spells for the upcoming cycle.
Whether you're running an October sprint review or just looking to break the routine with an engaging, gamified board, this template guides your team through a complete 6-stage retro experience.
What’s Inside The Board
01. The Summoning (Icebreaker): Get everyone warmed up, set expectations, and check in before entering the haunt.
02. Map of the Haunt: A handy navigation guide for facilitators and participants to track retro progress.
03. Core Reflection Columns:
Treats: What went well and gave us sweet wins?
Tricks: What surprises, scope creeps, or blockers tricked us?
Potions: What new ideas, tools, or experiments should we brew?
Spells: What concrete action items are we casting for next sprint?
04. Graveyard (Parking Lot): A dedicated resting place for topics and ideas put to sleep for later.
05. The Closing Ritual: Seal action items, assign owners, and capture final team alignment.
06. We Survived the Night & Guest Book: Wrap up with high energy, leave kudos, and sign off as a team!
How to Use
Set the Stage: Gather your team in "The Summoning" area and briefly walk through the "Map of the Haunt."
Brainstorm & Group: Direct everyone to add sticky notes under Treats, Tricks, Potions, and Spells.
Discuss & Cast Action Items: Move topics into Spells for concrete actions, or archive off-topic items in the Graveyard.
Seal the Ritual: Assign owners in "The Closing Ritual" and celebrate surviving the night!
Why Teams Love It
Gamified & High Energy: Keeps remote and hybrid teams engaged with atmospheric design and fun metaphors.
Structured & Actionable: Goes beyond standard retros by ensuring action items (Spells) have clear owners.
Complete Lifecycle: Includes everything from icebreaker checking to closing signatures and guest book shoutouts.
