🔪🧸 Chucky's Playroom
Step into Chucky’s Playroom and dissect the scares and successes of our sprint. Share the doll’s triumphs, the haunting hiccups, and plot upgrades to keep the project from turning into a nightmare.
Template Columns
🎉🤖 Doll's Triumphs
Celebrate the successful moves and victories in our project, like Chucky's perfect hits.
Base column: What Went Well⚠️🔪 Doll's Mishaps
Identify the scary glitches and setbacks that haunted our sprint.
Base column: What Went Wrong🔧🧸 Doll's Upgrades
Plan enhancements to make our next sprint less terrifying and more effective.
Base column: What We Want to ImproveAbout this template
A horror‑themed sprint retrospective that celebrates wins, surfaces scares, and plans upgrades to keep the project from becoming a nightmare.
When to use this template
Use when the team wants a fun, themed way to reflect on a sprint that had both high points and painful setbacks.
How to facilitate
The facilitator opens the session with a brief story hook about Chucky’s Playroom to set the tone and explain the three columns.
Team members silently add their Doll's Triumphs to the green column using sticky notes or virtual cards.
Next, participants add Doll's Mishaps to the red column, focusing on specific incidents rather than blame.
The group then moves to the orange column and brainstorms Doll's Upgrades, proposing concrete changes for the next sprint.
Everyone votes on the most critical upgrades using dot voting or reaction emojis.
The facilitator turns the top‑voted upgrades into clear action items with owners and due dates.
Close the retrospective by thanking the team and reminding them of the next sprint’s goals.
Pro Tips
Limit each column to 5‑7 items to keep discussion focused and avoid analysis paralysis.
Encourage the use of emojis or icons on virtual cards to reinforce the horror theme and boost engagement.
When voting, set a timebox of 2 minutes to keep momentum high.
FAQ
What if the team feels the horror theme is too gimmicky?
Explain that the theme is just a framing device to spark creativity; you can drop the icons and keep the three‑column structure if needed.
How do we handle dominant voices during the Mishaps discussion?
Use timed turns or a round‑robin approach and remind the group that the focus is on facts, not personalities.
Can we combine this with a traditional ‘Start‑Stop‑Continue’ format?
Yes, map Start to Upgrades, Stop to Mishaps, and Continue to Triumphs, preserving the playful language while aligning with familiar structures.
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At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
4-12 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
What Went Well, What Went Wrong, What We Want to Improve
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective