👑🎉 King's Birthday Bash
Step into the royal court and celebrate our team’s achievements like kings and queens! Reflect on triumphs, challenges, and decrees for the future as we crown new ideas for our next sprint.
Template Columns
🎁 Royal Gifts to Start
Present new initiatives fit for kingdom growth that we should begin.
Base column: Start🚫 Banished Decrees to Stop
Declare practices or habits to banish from our realm for better harmony.
Base column: Stop🏰 Traditions to Continue
Celebrate ongoing customs or successes that keep our royal house strong.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The King's Birthday Bash retrospective brings a playful, royal twist to reflection. Teams propose new 'royal gifts' to start, decree what habits to banish, and celebrate traditions to continue.
When to use this template
Use this template when your team could benefit from a fun, themed retrospective that balances celebration of success with constructive change—great for boosting morale and creativity.
How to facilitate
Introduce the King's Birthday Bash theme and encourage everyone to join the royal court in the spirit of celebration
Review the three columns: Royal Gifts to Start, Banished Decrees to Stop, and Traditions to Continue—clarify what type of feedback belongs in each category
Give team members private time (5–8 minutes) to add cards to each column, focusing on initiatives to start, practices to stop, and traditions to continue
Invite everyone to share their cards, reading them aloud or elaborating as needed
Facilitate open discussion to group similar ideas, clarify points, and prioritize the most important topics for action
Guide the team in selecting a few concrete actions or 'new royal decrees' to try in the next sprint
End by acknowledging wins and thanking the team for participation, maintaining the festive royal spirit throughout
Pro Tips
Encourage playful, themed language in cards to keep the experience light-hearted and fun
Invite team members to virtually wear crowns, change display names, or use celebratory backgrounds to boost engagement
Prompt quieter members directly by 'knighting' them to share when conversation stalls
Connect new 'royal gifts' to team or company goals for buy-in and relevance
FAQ
What if team members struggle to come up with 'royal' themed ideas?
Remind everyone that the theme is for fun—ordinary ideas are always welcome, with or without royal phrasing.
How do we keep the session from getting too silly and losing focus?
Balance the playful theme with structured facilitation and clear timeboxes to ensure meaningful reflection still happens.
How can we ensure action items are actually implemented after the retrospective?
Assign owners to each new 'royal decree' and follow up in the next sprint to review progress and celebrate wins.
At a glance
- Duration
40–55 min
- Team Size
4-10 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective