We May Get Another Stern Pinball Machine from Jack Danger After All; The Passing of a Pinball Legend; The Pinball Church & More...

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Nov 25, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.023

TL;DR

Jack Danger may design new Stern game; Marino Zaccaria passes; Church Arcade opens early 2026.

Summary

Knapp Arcade reports that Jack Danger may design another complete licensed Stern pinball machine on his own schedule as a demonstration project. The article also covers the passing of Marino Zaccaria (founder of Zaccaria Pinball at age 89), the opening of Church Arcade in Duquesne, PA (a retro arcade in a converted church), and factory/production updates from Pinball Brothers, Dutch Pinball, and Spooky Pinball.

Key Claims

Jack Danger stated he is not completely done designing machines and will create a complete, licensed game on his own schedule, working with Stern Pinball to design, build, and code it.
high confidence · Stern Pinball presentation at Dutch Pinball Open; direct statement by Jack Danger
It is unclear if Stern will mass produce Jack Danger's new game, but it seems as though they will.
medium confidence · Author's interpretation of presentation, not explicit statement
Marino Zaccaria, founder of Italian pinball manufacturer Zaccaria Pinball, passed away at age 89.
high confidence · News report about Zaccaria Pinball
Zaccaria manufactured between 40 and 50 pinball machines in Italy during the 1970s and 1980s.
medium confidence · Author acknowledges uncertainty: 'I don't know the exact number'
Church Arcade is scheduled to open in early 2026 in Duquesne, PA as a retro arcade in a retired Catholic church.
high confidence · Official statement from Pittsburgh Arcade Collective
Church Arcade currently has around 100 video arcade games and about 30 pinball machines, with more being added.
high confidence · Official FAQ from Church Arcade organizers
Spooky Pinball is working hard at finishing production of Evil Dead to start building Beetlejuice in early 2026.
high confidence · Factory production update from Spooky Pinball

Notable Quotes

“he is not completely done designing machines. He is going to create a complete, licensed game on his own schedule, showing how a whole game is made professionally”
Author summarizing Jack Danger's statement @ N/A — Indicates Jack Danger may return to game design for Stern despite previous indications he was done
“Once the process is done, he will have created a fully playable pin with code, art, etc... It is unclear if Stern will mass produce the game, but it seems as though they will.”
Author @ N/A — Clarifies scope of Jack Danger project; potential mass production uncertain
“His only ask was that we all help him do it with sweat and comradery. That was an easy 'yes, let's do it.'”
Pittsburgh Arcade Collective member @ N/A — Illustrates community-driven approach to Church Arcade creation
“PAC is a community and not tied to any one location. The Church is owned by a core PAC member and populated by games owned by PAC members.”
Pittsburgh Arcade Collective @ N/A — Clarifies relationship between Church Arcade and Pittsburgh Arcade Collective
“We are likely leaning towards an event based/membership based model. This won't be a 'show up any time you want' place.”
Church Arcade organizers @ N/A — Indicates Church Arcade's operational model will be curated community events rather than open-hours arcade

Entities

Jack DangerpersonStern PinballcompanyGary SternpersonMarino ZaccariapersonZaccaria PinballcompanyChurch ArcadevenuePittsburgh Arcade CollectiveorganizationDutch Pinball OpeneventDutch Pinball Museumvenue

Signals

?
business_signal: Spooky Pinball production schedule: Evil Dead nearing completion, Beetlejuice starting early 2026
high · Factory photo update from Spooky Pinball showing Evil Dead production line activity
?
event_signal: Church Arcade opening early 2026 in Duquesne, PA as community-driven retro arcade in converted church; planning event-based/membership model
high · Official statement from Pittsburgh Arcade Collective; private soft opening already held in September 2025
?
event_signal: Dutch Pinball Open featured presentations from Stern Pinball leadership and Jack Danger discussing game design and industry direction
high · Presentation details reported; Jack Danger and Gary Stern both present
$
market_signal: Multiple pinball manufacturers and distributors actively showcasing factory production and expansion activities
high · Factory visits and photos from Pinball Brothers, Dutch Pinball, Spooky Pinball, and Cointaker within same reporting period
?
announcement: Jack Danger may design a new complete licensed pinball game for Stern on his own schedule; unclear if mass production will occur
medium · Jack Danger's statement at Dutch Pinball Open presentation; author notes uncertainty about mass production plans

Topics

Jack Danger's potential return to game designprimaryChurch Arcade venue opening in Duquesne, PAprimaryMarino Zaccaria's passing and legacyprimaryPinball manufacturing and production updatessecondarySpooky Pinball production schedule (Evil Dead/Beetlejuice)secondaryPittsburgh arcade communitysecondaryPinball museum and heritage preservationmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.75)— Upbeat reporting on new opportunities (Jack Danger design, Church Arcade opening, factory productivity) balanced by somber news of Marino Zaccaria's passing. Overall tone is celebratory of pinball community growth and activity.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

News We May Get Another Stern Pinball Machine from Jack Danger After All; The Passing of a Pinball Legend; The Pinball Church & More... k knapparcade November 25, 2025 During a recent presentation at the Dutch Pinball Open, Stern Pinball's Gary Stern and Jack Danger gave a very interesting presentation. One of the most noteworthy things to come out of it was a section by Jack Danger in which he said that he is not completely done designing machines. He is going to create a complete, licensed game on his own schedule, showing how a whole game is made professionally, working with various people at Stern Pinball to design, build and code a game. Once the process is done, he will have created a fully playable pin with code, art, etc... It is unclear if Stern will mass produce the game, but it seems as though they will. Sad news out of the world of pinball this week, the founder of the Italian pinball manufacturer Zaccaria Pinball, Marino Zaccaria passed away at the age of 89. I have come to gain a tremendous appreciation for Zaccaria's games over the past several years, particularly after having the opportunity to play the largest public collection of the Company's games at the Ann Arbor Pinball Museum recently. Zaccaria manufactured between 40 and 50 pinball machines (I don't know the exact number) in Italy during the 1970s and 1980s. If you've never had a chance to play a Zaccaria, you can check out most of its games, virtually at least, in the fantastic game by Magic Pixel, aptly called Zaccaria Pinball, on Steam and consoles. As usual, during breakfast yesterday, I was scrolling around looking for cool arcade and pinball stuff to talk about when I came across the Facebook page for a new arcade that is scheduled to open in the Pittsburgh area in early 2026. This is no ordinary arcade though, it's a retro arcade housed inside a retired Catholic church - complete with the original architecture—stained glass, vaulted ceilings, and altars, but reimagined with arcade and pinball machines, and lighting creating a completely unique atmosphere. The Church Arcade is being created by members of the Pittsburgh Arcade Collective. They were kind enough to share the story of this new venture with us: In early 2025, core PAC member Jon expressed an interest in buying a building for our (PAC members) games to be in. His only ask was that we all help him do it with sweat and comradery. That was an easy "yes, let's do it." When he found this vacant church for sale, we knew it felt right. And we've been dumping time and sweat in ever since. We held a "very soft" opening private friends and family only event in mid September (this was where the current pictures came from). It was a wonderful event. But there is much left to do to be "open for real." Answers to common questions: 1\. When will you open? - Early 2026 hopefully. We don't have a date yet. Still a handful of stuff to check off the list before we are ready to open. Follow The Church Arcade for updates. 2\. What are your hours? - TBD. Again, follow The Church Arcade for updates. But we are likely leaning towards an event based/membership based model. This won't be a "show up any time you want" place. This will be a community model where we schedule get-togethers and you put it on your calendar. Think tournaments, leagues, theme parties, or private events and rentals. We are evaluating options. Let us know if you have a preference. 3\. How much will it cost? - We haven't decided on entry fee amounts yet, but we do know all games will be on free play, so you pay one price to play all day (or for a designated time period). 4\. How many games / what games? - We have a lot of games. More than 6 people have their personal games here and are adding more constantly. As of this post we have around 100 video arcades and about 30 pinballs, but that's growing daily. 5\. Is this PAC's official location? - Yes and No. PAC is a community and not tied to any one location. The Church is owned by a core PAC member and populated by games owned by PAC members. But the mission of PAC remains the same - to promote the Pittsburgh arcade scene - not just the Church location. The Church Arcade is simply an extension of this mission, not a replacement for it. This influx of attention caught us off guard. We should have the official website live later this week. In the meantime, follow The Church Arcade on Facebook, or use the sign-up form on www.pittsburgharcadecollective.com for updates. We appreciate the overwhelming love and support and look forward to enjoying games with you in 2026. Thanks! The arcade is located on South First Street Duquesne PA. Below is a link to the arcade's Facebook age so that you can follow along as they get ready for next year's opening: The Church Arcade The folks at the amazing Dutch Pinball Museum reached out to me yesterday to share a fantastic walkthrough of their location with the King of Flow himself, iconic pinball designer Steve Ritchie: Steve Ritchie, King of Flow, visits the Dutch Pinball Museum - YouTube Dutch Pinball Museum Dutch Pinball Museum Search Info Shopping / •Live • Pinball Brothers recently shared some great pictures of its latest game Predator being built at its Euro Pinball Corp. factory and of the game at the recent Dutch Pinball Open. The folks from the pinball distributor Cointaker recently took a trip out to the Dutch Pinball Factory and shared pictures of the Company's current game, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland on the production line. We've been lucky to get so many looks at pinball factories this week. Here's another one, this time from Spooky Pinball. Check out all those Evil Dead pinball machines on the line. Spooky is working hard at finishing up production of that game so that they can start building the next one, Beetlejuice in early 2026. Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Download the video instead.