This article was posted in the esteemed Economist magazine late in 2025. We’ve read the article, so you don’t have to.
They’ve made several unsubstantiated claims. Claims that are supported only by assumptions and not empirical evidence.
Firstly, the assumption is that, given the popularity of online quizzes developed during the COVID era, there is a growing demand for pub quizzes. There is no evidence provided for this inference. The growth of online quizzes is apparent, but inferring that the pub quiz market is benefiting seems unfounded, particularly when, in the UK, pubs are closing at a rapid rate. The New Zealand pub market is also consolidating. Our position, based on our collected data and its representativeness, is that attendance is slightly increasing at a reduced number of venues nationwide.
Secondly, the article suggests that quiz leagues are growing in popularity. Again, it’s anecdotal, but it seems reasonable due to technological advances. References are made to English leagues, which are run manually, with teams submitting their scores to an aggregator that compiles the data in spreadsheets. Of course, Qwizard has led the way with automated leaderboards and league tables since its inception. We continue to lead the way with our Winter League program, involving automated entry rankings and percentages. It is very clear that the New Zealand quiz market is more technologically sophisticated than any other in the world, and Qwizard leads the way.
Lastly, the article suggests that questions have become more inclusive, particularly regarding women. When it comes to pub quizzes, the inference is completely unfounded. In our view, quiz content has always been balanced to suit the audience. The suggestion is based on a quick check of Mastermind questions from the current decade versus the last decade, and implies that this unscientific study applies to pub quiz content. The suggestion, based on this evidence, is probably added to suit the narrative.
Each of the three suggestions is presented with weak evidence and applied from other sources without empirical evidence, often from other quiz formats. Of course, real data from Qwizard would probably have disproved most of the assumptions.