RetroLift / Retrospective games
Most lists of retrospective games describe games you then have to run yourself. These ten run here: start one, send the link, and the team is playing from a laptop or phone. No sign-up and nothing to install.
| Time you have | Start with |
|---|---|
| Under 5 minutes | β¬οΈ Higher or Lower |
| 5 minutes, and you want to hear opinions | πΆοΈ Hot Take Slider |
| Up to 15 minutes, new team | π€₯ Two Truths & a Lie |
| A longer session, or the last retro of the year | π¨ Draw & Guess |
Use these when the room is quiet. A short game gets everyone to say or tap something before the hard topics start.
2β40 players Β· 5 min
Everyone slides to agree or disagree with a light-hearted take, then guesses where the team lands. It gets people used to disagreeing out loud, which is what you want from a retro.
2β40 players Β· 3β5 min
A fun fact and a number to beat. Three minutes, no thinking about work, and everyone has tapped something.
2β50 players Β· 5β10 min
Draw a question for the room, run a check-in or play meeting bingo. Use the check-in to read the mood before you start.
Good for the fourth retro in a row, or a remote team that has been on calls all day.
3β12 players Β· 5β10 min
Two words appear and everyone types the word that links them, until the whole team says the same word. It works best with 3 to 12 people.
2β40 players Β· 5β8 min
A mystery picture zooms out from an extreme close-up. Name it before anyone else. Nothing to prepare, and new players pick it up at once.
2β40 players Β· 5β10 min
Decode the emoji: movies, office buzzwords, sayings. The first right answer gets a bonus.
A team that knows each other a little speaks more plainly in the retro. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for these.
3β30 players Β· 10β15 min
Everyone writes three facts about themselves and the team guesses which one is made up.
3β30 players Β· 10β15 min
Everyone answers a work-friendly prompt in secret, then guesses who wrote each answer.
3β20 players Β· 10β15 min
Everyone adds a favourite photo. Guess whose it is, then hear the story behind it. Tell people they can skip anything personal.
Finish the actions first, then play. Do it the other way round and the actions get rushed.
3β20 players Β· 10β20 min
One person draws a secret word and everyone races to guess it. Faster guesses score more. It takes 10 to 20 minutes, so keep it for a longer session.
A game gets people talking, but it will not tell you what to improve. For that, use a themed format, which some teams also call a retrospective game. These are free and open as a live board:
It can mean two things: a short game played at the start or end of a retro to warm the team up, or a themed retro format such as Sailboat, where the theme guides the discussion. This page covers both, and the ten games listed are the first kind.
No. One person starts a game and shares the link or QR code. Everyone else types a name and joins from a laptop or phone.
Five minutes is enough at the start of a normal retro. Keep the 10 to 20 minute games for longer sessions so they do not eat the time for actions.
Yes. All ten games on this page are free to play, with no sign-up.
RetroLift is free and made by AIYUN. See also all team games, retrospective templates and icebreaker questions.