Mack Flash Entertainment’s online trivia ‘a hit’ amid COVID-19 pandemic

It’s your typical Wednesday night around 7 p.m. after a long hard day of work. The Manchester Pub located on Ouellette Avenue in downtown Windsor is jam-packed. Not a single table is unoccupied. The smell of fresh cut French fries and burgers fills the air. Glasses clank. Everyone’s smiling. It’s trivia night — a weekly tradition for many Windsorites.

Francois Jacques has been running trivia shows at local bars and restaurants in Windsor-Essex for more than eight years. It’s his passion. So much in fact, he quit his 9-to-5 a few years ago and now runs trivia, full-time.

Mack Flash Trivia isn’t just your ordinary trivia game. Jacques revolutionized the trivia scene with video questions, picture speed rounds and a now-infamous music speed round.

Trivia nights were a hit, week after week.

Mack Flash Entertainment was thriving.

Then, COVID-19, an unforeseen global pandemic, forced Jacques to adapt.

“Enough, is enough, go home and stay home. This is what we all need to be doing,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on March 23, urging all Canadian residents to stay home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Experts say social and physical distancing is the single best way to keep the people around you safe.

“It means keeping two meters between yourself and someone else. It means avoiding groups. It means staying home as much as possible,” said Trudeau. “If you choose to ignore that advice, if you choose to get together with people or go to crowded places, you’re not just putting yourself at risk. You’re putting others at risk.”

In March, Dr. David Williams, the province’s chief medical officer of health echoed Trudeau’s statement, advising people not to gather in groups larger than 50. That number has since been adjusted down to five.

Williams also said bars and restaurants should halt dine-in service until further notice. One of the bars that hosted Mack Flash Trivia shut down, but Jacques didn’t panic just yet.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford later mandated the closure of all bars and restaurants.

But instead of folding, Jacques came up with a solution.

“You have to adapt,” said Jacques, who quickly shifted business to the virtual realm, running shows on YouTube. “Business-wise, for me, shifting to online shows is something I’ve been toying with and something I wanted to do. And this forced me to do it.”

Mack Flash Trivia goes live three nights a week from Jacques’ basement. The free-to-play live shows contain three rounds of 10 questions. The three speed rounds, often filled with pictures, puzzles or music each contain 15 questions.

So far, so good.

Less than a month into the online transition, Jacques has already eclipsed 4,000 hours of watch time and jumped the 1,000-subscriber requirement to get his channel monetized.

“When I started, I had 27 subscribers,” said Jacques. “I’m now at 1,100 subscribers. My page recently hit 1,600 likes for Mack Flash Entertainment on Facebook.”

The successful YouTube channel has received great feedback from regular bar trivia players as well as newcomers. Jacques has compiled a team of writers and is now offering pre-recorded shows seven days a week. The shows range from Disney to sports and even trivia for kids, available in French and English.

“It’s easy for kids to forget the little things,” said Jacques. “They weren’t done learning yet. They have been through a little over half their school year. I think exercising the brain is really important.”

As the world continues to isolate indoors due to COVID-19, Jacques strives to continue to offer trivia, so long as it allows him to continue doing it as a living.

Jacques said the fallout of COIVD-19 has been the perfect storm, allowing him to take his shows online and grow his audience.

“It’s not ideal, and I wish the circumstances were different,” said Jacques. “I was presented with an opportunity, and I’ve seized it.”

Watch here:

Listen Here: