LOCKDOWN has seen a 108 per cent increase in demand for virtual quizzes from a family-run York tech firm.

SpeedQuizzing, which is headquartered in York, saw the rise in April, with 10,000 virtual events hosted over the four weeks.

Previously, the company’s online quiz platform and app was used by hosts to run an average of 1,200 fast-paced, interactive quizzes every week. These were typically in pubs across the UK and around the world.

When the lockdown was announced, the company rapidly adapted its technology to enable its quizzes to be hosted and played remotely.

Now, an average of 2,500 virtual quizzes are being hosted and played on its new app and online platform, SpeedQuizzing Live, every week, with some events attracting up to 200 quizzers, often from all over the globe.

Teachers and schools are also using the technology to stage virtual quizzes for pupils to further their learning and keep them engaged, relieving some of the home-schooling pressures parents are facing.

Co-founder John Leach said: “We knew there would be demand for SpeedQuizzing Live, but what we’ve seen over the course of the last four weeks has surpassed all of our expectations.

“The UK has gone quiz mad and our free-to-download software is being used to host on average 476 virtual quizzes every day, both in the UK and much further afield, in countries such as New Zealand and India.

“These are difficult times for everyone, so to help quiz hosts, whether that’s entertainment professionals wanting to earn a living or simply members of the general public wanting to run a quiz for friends and family, we’ve made it free to use for anyone who is hosting a quiz with less than 40 players, which is the majority of people.

“It’s still a work in progress in many ways and it’s only going to get even better as we’re constantly improving its capabilities and functionality, with the SpeedQuizzing Live app now compatible with both Apple and Android devices.”

The family-run company has strengthened its 15 strong-team with the appointment of software developer John Martin. The team includes five question writers, who create 1,500 new questions for its database every month. SpeedQuizzing Live can be downloaded at SpeedQuizzing.com