🎰 Las Vegas Casino Night
Welcome to the bright lights of our Las Vegas retrospective! Place your bets on what paid off, uncover the odds we beat, and shuffle the deck for even greater wins next sprint. Will Lady Luck smile on our teamwork? Let’s roll the dice!
Template Columns
💎 Jackpot Wins
Share the big wins and lucky breaks your team hit this sprint.
Base column: Liked🃏 Card Tricks
Reveal the clever strategies or lessons you picked up, just like mastering casino games.
Base column: Learned🎲 Missed Rolls
Talk about the chances we missed or resources we didn’t have, as if luck wasn’t on our side.
Base column: Lacked🌟 High Roller Dreams
Describe the tools, opportunities, or support you wish we had for an even bigger payout next time.
Base column: Longed ForAbout this template
Las Vegas Casino Night is a fun, themed retrospective where teams celebrate breakthroughs, share strategic lessons, reflect on missed chances, and wish for resources to 'hit the jackpot' next sprint.
When to use this template
Use this format when you want to energize your team, reflect creatively, or add novelty to a regularly scheduled retro. It's great for the end of a high-stakes project or after a sprint with many ups and downs.
How to facilitate
Set the scene with the Las Vegas theme and explain each column's casino-inspired focus to spark creative thinking.
Invite team members to add notes to all columns: highlight major 'Jackpot Wins', reveal 'Card Tricks' learned, surface 'Missed Rolls', and voice 'High Roller Dreams'.
Give the team quiet individual time to brainstorm their thoughts and add them to the board without group discussion.
Guide everyone through a round of reading out and briefly discussing the cards in each column to ensure shared understanding and laughter.
Facilitate a group conversation to spot patterns, recurring themes, and interconnections between columns.
Prioritize key areas for improvement or experimentation using voting or dotmocracy.
Work with the team to craft clear, achievable action items from the top insights and 'High Roller Dreams' for the next sprint.
Close by celebrating contributions, betting on action items, and perhaps sharing a playful toast to future wins.
Pro Tips
Encourage playful language or casino metaphors to build engagement and make the session memorable.
To generate deeper insights, ask follow-up questions about what made certain strategies successful or where luck versus skill played a role.
Allow quieter team members to add ideas anonymously for more honest feedback.
Timebox each column to keep the session energetic and focused.
FAQ
How do we keep the casino theme from distracting from the retrospective's goals?
Kick off by connecting the casino elements to real team scenarios, emphasizing that the theme is a fun lens for meaningful reflection—not just for laughs.
What if the team feels unlucky or discouraged this sprint?
Focus on 'Card Tricks' (clever lessons) and 'High Roller Dreams' to frame challenges as learning opportunities and rally around future aspirations.
Can we use this format for serious sprints or only lighter moments?
Absolutely. The playful theme helps teams approach even difficult topics from a creative angle, making it easier to discuss setbacks or complex situations.
How do we ensure action comes from all this creative reflection?
End by translating top insights into concrete, assigned action items, and revisit those commitments next sprint to close the feedback loop.
At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
4-12 people
- Columns
4 columns
- Base Format
Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective