PGM Member Skullbox686 has been running a Zaccaria Pinball (Steam/PC https://store.steampowered.com/app/444930/Zaccaria_Pinball/) daily score challenge in our Discord that I decided to recap each week on Wednesday until the Humpday Wednesday live streams return for Season 2. I’m still on the day job hiatus from these live streams, but I need to get back to working them so I can train for the Easter Sunday April 20, 2025 17+ hours of pinball standing up and playing show (see: Sunday April 20, 2025: Goal to set personal livestream record of 17+ Hours Playing Pinball while standing)
For those not familiar with Zaccaria Pinball, they are a competitor in the commercial virtual pinball space to Pinball FX offering recreations of real Zaccaria pinball machines manufactured in the late 70s to 80s. The developers are Magic Pixel and they have also offered more modern versions and re-imaginations of the games featuring original artwork, sounds and music. An article being published tomorrow, Thursday 2/6/2025 will cover Zaccaria’s newest update and some controversy swirling around their recent decision to start using AI-generated artwork. More on that tomorrow, but we saw this thing coming in pinball and mentioned this previously: For the Low Price of $3,250 You Can Read This Report On the Future Of Pinball 2023-2031 – OR … Use Common Sense And Guess Along With Us.
It’s the beginning, that a commercial virtual pinball developer are admitting using AI-gen art, but it’s going to happen with real pinball in time. Here’s a quote from this prediction:

Anyway, I don’t think is too surprising — nor unpredictable — an announcement from Magic Pixel regarding Zaccaria Pinball and it’s by far no then of what we’ll see in pinball going forward. Like it or not — and most do not like it — “AI” will continue to be more of a thing going forward.
Let’s get to the games inside Zaccaria Pinball that Skullbox686 has featured so far, starting January 24, 2025 with Time Machine Retro. We are playing both arcade and simulation 3-ball games for the leaderboards.
Skull kicked this off on 1/24/2025:

These are all of Skull’s featured pins to date:

Today, 2/5/2025, game:

Still haven’t played Dungeons & Dragons yet … but did play Ninja Eclipse
Recently, we traveled southbound to an arcade called Insert Coin. It’s one of those card-based places and had a chance to play two games not played yet: the Premium version of Metallica: Remastered and Ninja Eclipse. I need to update the Metallica article Holy Sleestak, Metallica: Remastered – Wait 1+ hour at Pinball Expo to play game that’s been out for 11+ years! because the green in person is more subdued than it appeared to me online. I actually like how it fit the design and even the translite green was more muted than it appeared online. Just for the record, I always thought the Metallica game was good, just had a negative reaction to the use of a color I haven’t historically associated with the band.
As for Ninja Eclipse? I am working on a detailed first thoughts article that hopefully makes it out later this week or next. Just a teaser on my impression of that as a first pin is mostly positive.
Training for the Easter PGM Twitch 3rd birthday party has begun, see: Sunday April 20, 2025: Goal to set personal livestream record of 17+ Hours Playing Pinball while standing
Lastly, Texas Pinball Festival is next month and we’ll be there on Saturday March 22. Are you going? I’ll have more on that soon, perhaps as early as next month. Happy gaming to you!
The exploration and sharing of things we enjoy about this hobby is much appreciated. Thanks Skull!
Skull it’s awesome your doing this pinball scoring chasing, I’ll have to play those and get some scores!