🍄🚀 Super Mario Sprint
Jump into our sprint like Mario, collecting power‑ups (wins) and dodging Goombas (issues) to level up our agile game!
Template Columns
🏁 🍄 Start the Power‑Up
Identify new practices or tools to boost our speed and abilities, like grabbing a mushroom.
Base column: Start❌ 🐢 Stop the Goomba Traps
Highlight blockers or habits that hinder progress, akin to avoiding Goombas and pits.
Base column: Stop⭐ 🍰 Continue the Coin Streak
Keep the successful habits that earn us points and keep the team moving forward.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
A fun, game‑themed sprint retrospective where the team discovers power‑ups to start, stops blockers, and continues winning habits.
When to use this template
Use when you want an engaging, light‑hearted format that still surfaces actionable improvements, especially after a high‑energy sprint.
How to facilitate
Open the virtual board with three columns labeled Start, Stop, and Continue, each decorated with Mario icons.
Explain the Mario theme and invite participants to think of power‑ups (new ideas) for the Start column, Goomba traps for Stop, and coin streaks for Continue.
Give each person 2–3 minutes to write their items on virtual sticky notes and place them in the appropriate column.
Group similar notes, discuss each column, prioritize the most impactful items, and decide concrete actions for the next sprint.
Record the agreed actions in a shared document, celebrate the team's progress, and close the session.
Pro Tips
Add emojis or icons to each sticky note to keep the theme alive and boost engagement.
Limit each participant to three items per column to keep discussion focused and concise.
When clustering notes, assign a “power‑up” label (e.g., Speed Boost) to highlight high‑value ideas.
FAQ
What if the team runs out of ideas for power‑ups?
Prompt specific areas such as tooling, communication, or process tweaks, and remind the team that even small adjustments count as power‑ups.
How do we prevent dominant voices from taking over the board?
Use a round‑robin or timer so each person adds their notes before open discussion, ensuring equal contribution.
Can we combine this format with sprint metrics?
Yes, tie each power‑up or blocker to a metric like velocity or cycle time to give data‑driven context to the discussion.
Want a custom template?
Create a retrospective template tailored to your team's needs with our AI-powered generator
At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
4-12 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective