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Episode 200: Daniele Acciari, 4x World Champion

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·31m 45s·held·Jun 1, 2019
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.030

TL;DR

Four-time World Champion Daniele Acari reflects on his career and pinball landscape ahead of IFPA 16 in Italy.

Summary

Daniele Acari, a four-time World Pinball Champion from Rome, Italy, discusses his journey from starting pinball at age 7 on Gottlieb games to becoming one of the sport's greatest players. He reflects on his tournament history, the state of pinball in Italy, the challenge of balancing competitive play with work obligations, and his preparation for hosting IFPA 16 in Italy. Acari emphasizes the importance of mental discipline, game knowledge, and the growing strength of younger European players.

Key Claims

  • Daniele Acari is the only four-time World Pinball Champion

    high confidence · Host Jeff Teals introduces Acari as 'the only four-time world champion' at the episode start

  • Acari started playing pinball at age 7 in 1991 on Gottlieb games

    high confidence · Daniele states: 'I started playing pinball when I was seven years old. It was 1991.'

  • Acari won IFPA 7 (2010) World Championship, defeating Andy Rosa in the final

    high confidence · Jeff notes 'You beat Andy Rosa to win your first world championship' and Daniele confirms the victory

  • Acari qualified 24th at the 2013 Papa Circuit final and won it, defeating Keith Elwin

    high confidence · Daniele describes: 'I begin from the bottom as the 24th player' and Jeff confirms 'You beat Keith Elwin in the circuit final'

  • In Italy, there are very few pinball machines in pubs and bars, mostly in poor condition

    high confidence · Daniele states: 'There are a few machines in Rome I saw very rarely in the pubs or bars. When I see a machine the machine is bad, it's in bad condition.'

  • Italian bars predominantly stock Williams/Bally games from the 1990s rather than Zaccaria or Gottlieb machines

    high confidence · Daniele explains: 'At the moment there are more Williams 90s' in bars, with older machines found in homes

  • There are approximately 20-30 great competitive pinball players in Italy, mostly in the northern regions

    medium confidence · Daniele states: 'In Italy, I can consider just 20, 30 great players. And the bad luck is these players are so far from me... they are in the north of Italy.'

  • Acari played 12 hours continuously during the 2013 Papa Circuit final ladder play before winning

    high confidence · Daniele describes: 'I employed eight hours to arrive from the bottom to the top' in ladder play, then 'After three hours and the final, the other four hours. I played 12 hours in a row.'

Notable Quotes

  • “I was standing on the chair to play because I was too short to push the bat and to see the ball.”

    Daniele Acari @ early — Illustrates humble beginnings and childhood determination to play despite physical limitations

  • “I played on the Pimbal from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. with one token only... I durred too long time.”

    Daniele Acari @ early — Shows exceptional skill mastery as a young player, keeping a single machine going for hours

  • “I saw Lyman F. Sheats Jr. many times, and I was amazed from his position when he played. When he was crouched down... For me, he was the best player in the world in that tournament.”

    Daniele Acari @ mid — Demonstrates respect for other elite players and learning from observation

  • “I remember for example we played Family Guy. I was at my second ball with 51 million. He was at 2-3 million at his third ball and he did 53 millions... the nervousness was very high and we finished that match 5-4 for me.”

    Daniele Acari @ mid — Illustrates intense competitive moments and the critical role of mental discipline in tournament play

  • “I understand when I can win and when I can't understand when I believe to lose... when you play and you don't mind of your results you play better because i usually play and i don't I don't mind my results because this is a way to feel better, to avoid the nervousness.”

    Daniele Acari @ mid — Key insight into mental approach and psychological strategy for competitive success

  • “Every player is improving slow and slow in the time... the tournaments are getting very, very hard. And you need the concentration from the beginning to the end, and you need also more skill and more constantly.”

    Daniele Acari @ late — Reflects on rising competitive difficulty and the evolution of skill requirements in modern pinball tournaments

  • “I hope in the future I can do it, because otherwise I don't win.”

    Daniele Acari @ late — Shows competitive determination and acknowledgment of skill gaps he needs to overcome

Entities

Daniele Acariperson[name withheld pending review]personKeith ElwinpersonZach SharpepersonLyman F. Sheats Jr.personMats RunstenpersonRaymond DavidsonpersonBowen KerinspersonRick Stettaperson

Signals

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Acari notes that modern tournament players are improving consistently and tournaments are becoming harder; younger players like Ostermeyer, Escher, and Kolevkov are rising in skill level

    high · Daniele: 'Every player is improving slow and slow in the time... and slowing, the tournaments are getting very, very hard... saw the very good players I increased from the younger guys. Like Johannes Ostermeyer, like Escher, like Kolevkov. They are very good.'

  • ?

    venue_signal: Italy has severely limited pinball machine availability in public venues; most machines in bars/pubs are in poor condition; older machines are relegated to home collections

    high · Daniele: 'There are a few machines in Rome I saw very rarely in the pubs or bars. When I see a machine the machine is bad, it's in bad condition... the people don't like so much.'

  • $

    market_signal: Italian operators heavily favor Williams/Bally 1990s games for bar/pub placement due to lower failure rates and maintenance concerns; newer Stern machines found only in home collections

    high · Daniele: 'At the moment there are more Williams Valley 90s... in the bar or pubs you can find new machines because I think new machines don't break usually... For renters it's more comfortable... if you put in the pub Williams-Bally, it was broken.'

  • ?

    community_signal: Italy has fragmented competitive pinball community with only 20-30 strong players, mostly concentrated in northern regions far from each other and from Acari in Rome

    medium · Daniele: 'In Italy, I can consider just 20, 30 great players. And the bad luck is these players are so far from me... they are in the north of Italy.'

  • ?

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.095

0:00
it's time now for a special pinball profile episode 200 i'm your host jeff teals you can find our group on facebook we're also on twitter at pinball profile email us pinball profile at gmail.com and please subscribe on your favorite podcatcher for episode 200 we go to one of the greatest players in the world and it just so happens the world's greatest players are coming to his country for IFPA 16. He is the only four-time world champion and one of the best players of all time. Joining us today, Daniele Acari. Buongiorno, Daniele. Thanks. I'm ready to go to the work after the interview. For those who don't know, when did you start playing pinball? I started playing pinball when I was seven years old. It was 1991. Until I was 12 years old, until 1996. And I began to play on the chair. I was standing on the chair to play because I was too short to push the bat and to see the ball. And slow and slow, later I removed the chair and I played standing only. Once you got taller, yeah, the chair had to go. But, you know, as you get older, sometimes the chair comes back. So what games did you play when you were younger? I began on the Kubo Wizard of Gottlieb. I played on this pinball machine. And I remember it was broken because you could win the game when you finish on the match. You have two numbers equal and you win the game. And I played all the time for free until the technician replaced it with a light zone. and on it I spent a lot of money, I remember, for my age. Slow and slow I increased also the skill on Twilight Zone and after one month I won games with replay and not with matches. And I remember the people of the bar, the game room, complained of myself because I durred too long time. I played on the Pimbal from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. with one token only. And after that, I remember in the bar, they put also Street Fighter 2, World Cup Soccer, and Terminator 2 to satisfy the request of people because from that time, the people increased to play Pimbal. It was unbelievable. and it wasn't believable I respect it now because now people don't play pinball enough. Not like they did in the heyday, that's for sure. It's good that they got other machines in there so that other people can play and you're not hogging the machines. So you're in Rome, is there a lot of pinball there and in Italy? There are a few machines in Rome I saw very rarely in the pubs or bars. When I see a machine the machine is bad, it's in bad condition. because it's not very good for rent, maybe, I don't know. And the people don't like so much, and in other, there is a pimple in bad condition, therefore you can understand that the people don't like more, don't play. But now, in the last year, maybe something is increasing, maybe more people is increasing to play. I tried also to rent my machine to a pub of my friend and I saw if you follow the people during the gameplay, people know what to do to win on Pimble Machine and play so much. I think we have to do our work to follow the people when they play and maybe increase, maybe the persons can increase that play pinball. In Italy, are there a lot of newer games or older games? At the moment there are more Williams Valley 90s. These Pima machines are at home of people and in the bar or pubs you can find new machines because I think new machines don't break usually, often. And for renters it's more comfortable because they let a Pima machine there and don't worry. Instead if you put in the pub Williams-Bally, it was broken. And you can find in the house of people also old machines, like classics, old Gottlieb or old Bally-Williams. Daniele, you mentioned a lot of the Bally-Williams games, like Twilight Zone, T2 and World Cup Soccer. Is it safe to say in Italy there were a lot of Zaccaria games? I'm seeing in Italy the sellers had machines and began from Medieval Madness, Cactus Canyon, Williams Valley, 90s. At the beginning, they sold this big title. After that, I think they finished this title and the target was others. It was always a sell machine, but Medieval Madness, Cactus, Cactus, was finished and they began to promote Bally Williams 90s like Getaway, Doctor Who World Cup Soccer after that they finished also this and now they promote old machines like Zacharia and Old Gottlieb but I think for a good player now Zacharia and Old Gottlieb are so ugly games, so boring and And we like to play a new, stirred machine. I think also Williams-Ball in the 90s now, for a very good player, are boring. Because, like, Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones is too slow. Yeah, you make perfect sense. I guess with Indiana Jones, you're just hitting the center and starting multiball over and over again. Maybe do some modes, but really just getting back into multiball. That's interesting to me to hear you say that you find Zachariah games a little perhaps boring and maybe not very attractive. I find them absolutely beautiful, and I love the sounds of them. Games like Farfella, and I remember playing Clown at Pinburg one year. It was me beating the hell out of Josh Sharp. Nate Shivers will agree. He was there. Do you have any favorite Zachariah games? My favorite, and I have it, is Pinball Champ 82. And of Zachariah, these years, I love the flip on the how-to-aim, for example. And the sound, because it was the first sound in the world I remember of Zachariah, right? And I love also Moonflight and Aerobatics, all the machines of Zachariah, mechanical. These are two good games that I like of Zachariah. Yeah, I don't get to see a lot of Zachariah games, and I wish I could because I find them beautiful and I find them fun to play, just like I do any game you don't get to see that often. With work and travel, we don't get to see you play that much. Is it really hard for you to play nowadays? Yeah, now it's more difficult to play pinball tournament than in the past because to work, I have a degree more, and now I have more responsibilities. I need to be more present. at work also and sincerely also the history of Team pinball for me is the crisis because around me italian people i have people that if you talk about pinball they talk about about money about the value of pinball. They like pinball only for the pictures printed on it and we don't talk about rules, about gameplay, about the flow of the playfield for example. And I participate also at the discussion in the forum but the argument is the value and the draw on the draw zone on people they like people because he's a beautiful to see now because it's beautiful to place the the rules are beautiful no and they like they like medical menace because it's beautiful to see because there is a castle the ramp with dragon okay and in In Italy, I can consider just 20, 30 great players. And the bad luck is these players are so far from me. I don't know if they are in my area, but they are in the north of Italy. And every player is far from other. Daniele, let's go back in time. The first tournament you played in was back in 2007. It was the European Championship. There were so many great players there, including Mats Runsten from Sweden, who was the number one player in the world at the time. Jorien was there, Lyman was there. There were 156 players, and you finished sixth. Were you nervous back then, or were you always confident? It was my first tournament, and I remember it like yesterday. I remember I began the tournament with qualification, and it was okay. and after that we had a playoff and I played the semi-final with Jorian and Joe Braxton with that at Circus Voltaire Machine I did 180 millions with the first ball I saw Jorian like a senior ok I play but this score is impossible to reach and I won the first game and there I understood that I was in the semi-final because I didn't know nothing about tournament, about my position. I was playing only, playing ping, I had to win, no problem. And after that I realized that I was in semi-final and the nerves began because after we played World Cup soccer, I lost and also on Adams. I lost the second game, I was best of three, and I was out from tournament. I remember the final with Lyman Sheets, Mastrasen, Jorjen, and Lyman Sheets won the tournament. And during it, I saw Lyman Sheets many times, and I was amazed from his position when he played. When he was crouched down, yeah. Yes, I love it. And for me, he was the best player in the world in that tournament. And I was amazed because when I meet again him on IFPA 7, my first World Pinball Championship, I believed that he won again. He still did not. He's one of the best for sure. Let's fast forward to 2010. So this is only three years later. You were one of the Italian representatives at IFPA 7 in Minnesota. It was your first pinball tournament in America. Your English back then, as I'm told, was not very strong. I think you sound amazing right now. But none of that mattered. You beat Andy Rosa to win your first world championship. You must still get goosebumps thinking of that first major win. Yes, I remember it. I didn't speak English totally. I spoke with it, for example.

  • Since 2008, six Europeans and five Americans have won the World Championships

    high confidence · Jeff states this as factual context in the discussion

  • Acari nearly won IFPA 15 but lost in the final to Raymond Davidson due to fever

    high confidence · Daniele explains: 'I had fever' and 'in the final i was very bad because the fever increased again' causing him to lose

  • “I see Pintips and there I can find some rules, some important rules, but I don't know very well the rules because there are a few rules, the most important.”

    Daniele Acari @ late — Illustrates language and resource barriers for non-English-speaking competitors accessing game knowledge

  • “I think USA is growing up more than Europe, but maybe in the next future. But I think five, six years in Europe grows so much.”

    Daniele Acari @ mid — Offers perspective on regional pinball growth trends and future competitive landscape

  • “Surely I choose a fast game like Jackpot is one of my favorites also... Jackpot, Twilight Zone and Walking Dead is my favorite game.”

    Daniele Acari @ late — Reveals designer preferences and playstyle, emphasizing fast-paced games with good flow

    • Johannes Ostermeyer
    person
    Jorianperson
    Nicola Piero Bonperson
    Andy Rosaperson
    IFPAevent
    IFPAevent
    IFPAevent
    2007 European Championshipevent
    [name withheld pending review]event
    Williamscompany
    Zaccariacompany
    Gottliebcompany
    Sterncompany

    community_signal: Italian pinball community divided between collectors/investors focused on machine aesthetics and resale value versus players interested in rules and gameplay

    medium · Daniele: 'around me italian people i have people that if you talk about pinball they talk about about money about the value of pinball. They like pinball only for the pictures printed on it and we don't talk about rules, about gameplay, about the flow of the playfield'

  • ?

    operational_signal: Acari struggles to maintain tournament participation due to increased work responsibilities and difficulty securing time off; seasonal vacation pressures especially in summer

    high · Daniele: 'now it's more difficult to play pinball tournament than in the past because to work, I have a degree more, and now I have more responsibilities... in the summer I have a problem with my work to have day off because all people ask for vacation.'

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Acari identifies fast-paced games with good flow as his favorites, specifically citing Jackpot, Twilight Zone, and Walking Dead; finds slower classics like Indiana Jones boring

    high · Daniele: 'Surely I choose a fast game like Jackpot is one of my favorites... Jackpot, Twilight Zone and Walking Dead is my favorite game... Indiana Jones is too slow.'

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Acari attributes success to managing nervousness and not over-focusing on results; sees mental discipline as critical differentiator as skill gap narrows among top competitors

    high · Daniele: 'when you play and you don't mind of your results you play better... if you play with nerves, you lose... I usually play and i don't I don't mind my results because this is a way to feel better, to avoid the nervousness.'

  • ?

    content_signal: Non-English-speaking players face barriers to accessing tutorial content and game rule resources; Acari notes most tutorials are in English and difficult to follow

    high · Daniele: 'No, because they are in English and I have some trouble to follow it... I have trouble to see it... I have this handicap now.'

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Tournament attendance varies by geography; when IFPA/majors held in Europe, fewer Americans attend; when held in USA, fewer Europeans attend; Papa draws global participation

    medium · Daniele: 'if IFPA is played in Europe, less Americans come here. And the same is for USA. Many Europeans don't go to USA... Papa is the biggest event in the world. And join all people, all players, all pinball players.'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Acari expresses concern that modern Stern games with complex rules are becoming difficult for players without consistent access to newer machines to learn

    medium · Daniele: 'the difficulty for me is to find Stern machine and play it to learn... the rules now are complex very very complex and you have to study... I saw for example Game of Thrones I saw Keith Irwin with 16 million. I don't know how I can do 16 million.'

    • 12:27
    I did the playoff very good and there I met my good friend, pinball friend, Nicola Piero Bon. I don't know if you know. He now is in Colombia and I miss him now because Nicola was my teacher about the rules of Pimbal Machine because I didn't know. And I remember that for me in that tournament the final was again with Jorian and Jim Braxton because I had a very hard match with him. I remember for example we played Family Guy Pimbal. I was at my second ball with 51 million. He was at 2-3 million at his third ball and he did 53 millions and I started again my third ball. You can think it's easy to win because you need two millions only. And he said, by means of my nerves, I lost the ball at my 52 millions. The nervousness was very high and we finished that match 5-4 for me. For me, the final was the battle, the match with Yorian, because after that, I won all the matches, 4-1, 4-1, 4-0. I don't remember with Andy Rosa, the players were not so strong for the final. So I guess when you get over that hump, it's a lot easier once you get past that mindset. You've just had a tough battle and things are going to be okay. You got past the tough one, so to speak. Yes. Daniele, there are people coming from all over the world to play in IFPA 16 for the World Championships. Where are some of the places you'd recommend people go check out when they're in Italy? For the first time, I recommend to come to Rome in Italy because Rome is a wonderful tourist. Not, for example, for me because I work in Rome. and if you come in Rome, the traffic hits you and the stress you is unbelievable. I do every day two hours of traffic to go to work and two hours to come back. It's a nightmare.
    14:51
    And for a tourist that visits the center of Rome, it's wonderful. You can see wonderful monuments, wonderful people, many restaurants with very good food, very good pasta. because you have to know that pasta is good in the south of Italy, and when you raise up the country, the pasta is worse. If you go to Milan and you eat pasta, pasta is worse than Rome, than the south of Italy. It's too far north in Italy, isn't it? Yeah. And after Rome, to go to Milan, you can stop to Florence, Firenze, and after going to Milan. In Milan, I think you need one day to visit Milan. That is only the center. It's so small. I was just there in the fall with my wife and we went to Lake Como Lake Como yes It so cloudy But it was so pretty It so lovely Yes So no other player has won more World Championships than you Daniele You've won four. Raymond Davidson has won the last two. Bowen Cairns has won two, and so has Rick Stetta. You almost made it five last year at IFPA 15 here in Canada. What do you remember about coming so close last year? I remember from last year, I began the qualification at IFPA, very very bad until the the first play off i felt uh not well not so well because in fact later i asked to jasmine paracetamol because i had i had fever and after paracetamol my performance improved and i had a good tournament until the final because uh in the final i was very bad because the fever increased again and on attack from Mars, the ball comes down. This is the flip and... On the in lane, yeah. I missed it. Airflex was... I missed it and I understood there that I lost the tournament. I lost the tournament now because I have no chance. This don't mean that Raymond didn't deserve to win it. Raymond he deserved to win. Raymond played excellent and yeah he deserved to win that was nice of you to say that but it would have been nice to see you play without that fever that's too bad I had no idea. One thing I remember last year at IFPA 15 before the tournament got underway there was a pin golf tournament at Cabin Fever and you qualified first you were driving the bus and in the final you chose Total Nuclear Annihilation which amazed me because you told me earlier in the day that was the first time you had ever played the game and you still picked it. Yes, yes. I can see this I understand when I can win and when I can't understand when I believe to lose, I didn't play that machine before but someone explained me the rules and I chose it because I would like to try it because when I saw that machine I was amazed because the colors are very, very wonderful.
    18:16
    I had a curiosity of a new Pimol machine, less ramps. I had a curiosity to play it because many people told me about it. It's a good machine, beautiful. It's very good. I like it. I would like to play and I played but I lost. and credit by the way to johannes ostermeyer from germany who won the event you had no fear of playing a game in which you had no knowledge but you just let your skills be enough i find that amazing sometimes when i can understand when i win when i when i believe to lose and sometimes when you play and you don't mind of your results you play better because i usually play and i don't I don't mind my results because this is a way to feel better, to avoid the nervousness, you know? And you can play better. Because if you play with nerves, you lose. And I forgot to tell you that I didn't know Ostermeyer. I didn't know. And I knew that he played before on Walking Dead and he lost. He lost with me. And I thought that Walking Dead is a game very, very fast. And I saw Total Nuke Annihilation. It's very fast, too. And I believed that I could beat him with the speed of the game, but he won. Yeah, that's right. I think in his first game in the final, he took a nine and then went hole-in-one, hole-in-one. But you picked the game because it was fast. Interesting. Since 2008, there have been six Europeans to win the World Championships and five Americans. I'm amazed how many Europeans make up the top 100 players in the world, simply because it seems some of the bigger tournaments happen to be in North America. Do you think there would be more Europeans in the top 100 if there were an equal amount of majors on both sides of the pond?
    20:25
    This is a good question because I think I'm not able to answer you. I think there are different periods of time. One time the Europeans are better, one time not. And I think this consideration depends on the people that participate at tournaments because before we can think we are the papa, no? At Papa I remind that many, many people go to play Papa because it's a huge tournament. And you there, you can find all kind of people, European, Americans, from all the world. Because I think Papa is the biggest event in the world. And join all people, all players, all pinball players. Instead, IFPA, I saw that, for example, if IFPA is played in Europe, less Americans come here. And the same is for USA. Many Europeans don't go to USA to play the World Pinball Championship. And I don't know. I don't know. There are very good players in USA and very good players in Europe. And now I saw the very good players I increased from the younger guys. Like Johannes Ostermeyer, like Escher, like Kolevkov. They are very good. I saw another German guy of 11 years old. Very good, very, very good. And he beat me on the last Dutch Pinball Masters on the creature. I was amazed from him, to watch him. We need more tournaments in bars so some of these young kids can't get in and then older people like you and I can maybe win some more tournaments. Yes, I'm very glad of this because it means that pinball is growing up in the world. And I think USA is growing up more than Europe, but maybe in the next future. But I think five, six years in Europe grows so much. We need seniors tournaments for us older people.
    22:54
    Next year, the Stern Pro Circuit is switching back to the top 20 players, and it's a complete ladder match. Four players playing one game, players 17 through 20. The loser out. They bring in the next player and go until they have the finals. Back in 2013, you qualified for the then Papa Circuit final. You got in with a win at the Northwest Championships. You were at the bottom of the ladder, and you won it all. You beat Keith Elwin in the circuit final. How hard was it to climb all the way back from the bottom to the top?
    23:27
    To arrive on the Pimple Circuit, Pampa Circuit final was very, very hard because you had to win a circle of tournament in USA and I won a Northwest Pimple Championship with only one tournament I was qualified. and I begin from the bottom as the 24th player It very hard to do that tournament because you know in your mind that if you lose one game you're out. And the stress is huge because you have to play good every game. You have to play very, very good. And it depends also on the score of the other players. but in your mind you are very stressed and it's difficult to play well with relax. I had two or three games,
    24:25
    it's a so lucky game because I had a bad score and there was another guy that has a bad score than mine and was very lucky. I employed eight hours to arrive from the bottom to the top to play the final with Zach Sharp, Keith Herwin.
    24:47
    I took about two, three painkillers because I had a pain on my arms, on my breast. And after eight hours, I had the final. But in that point, I had an advance respect to other players because I knew very well every machine. Zach Sharp, Keith Herwin, Joshua, no. They played for the first time on that game. And in the final, I think I had an advantage. I respect them. Daniele, that's a good point. You had so much experience playing these games. Everyone coming in was cold and you were already warmed up. I guess you did have an advantage. You had to win more games, but you had experience on the machines. Yes, after three hours and the final, the other four hours. I played 12 hours in a row. It was unbelievable. When I won, I was amazed of myself. Yeah, really. A lot of other people were amazed, but not surprised by what you've done on your pinball resume. So here we are looking at next year, the last two years there hasn't been a Papa Championship. Fingers crossed it'll be back in 2020. But there is a new major at Indisc in January in California. Do you see that event as an opportunity for you to come back to the U.S.? Yes, for me it's a good opportunity to come back there. And I'm glad also because January for me is more possible to come there instead of the summer because in the summer I have a problem with my work to have day off because all people ask for vacation. And in January for me it's better. I surely can go next year to Indiesc. I don't know if the flight is so expensive, but I can go there. I heard from other players that Indiesc is like Vava, it's the same tournament. I don't know, but I heard that. And maybe next year I participate, maybe. Maybe, yes. Yes, it is. It's very similar and a lot of fun. Yeah, because I heard also that technology is very high in that tournament. There is a streaming computer like that. Plus the weather will be very nice in California. I know you'll enjoy that. So let's talk about pinball playing. What flipper skills do you think made you improve your game and go to the next level? My next level, I think I have to learn to do the life catch. I have to learn it and I need more training because I don't play pinball. When I am at home, I can play one game for fun, only one hour per week. I know that I need more training because I saw now that the tournaments, respecting the pass, are more difficult. You can meet people like Ozermeyer, Keith Elwin, Zach Sharp, whole big players. And every player is improving slow and slow in the time. and slowing, the tournaments are getting very, very hard. And you need the concentration from the beginning to the end, and you need also more skill and more constantly. I hope in the future I can do it, because otherwise I don't win. Do you watch tutorials and videos? No, because they are in English and I have some trouble to follow it. I see Pintips and there I can find some rules, some important rules, but I don't know very well the rules because there are a few rules, the most important. If you would like to know very well the machine, I think you have to see a tutorial. I have trouble to see it and I have trouble also in my city to play new Stern machine because the difficulty for me is to find Stern machine and play it to learn. As old Bally Williams, old Bally Williams I know in total and Stern not. and I have this handicap now and if we go in front of the time I have much trouble to play tournament and to play pinball because the rules now are complex very very complex and you have to study you have to know the rules because otherwise you have low scores I saw for example Game of Thrones I saw Keith Irwin with 16 million. I don't know how I can do 16 million on Game of Thrones. I have to develop how, but I have to study. I hope that I have much time to study pinball in the future. Daniele, before I let you go, if you had to pick three games, perfect flow, great rules, what would those three games be?
    30:24
    Surely I choose a fast game like Jackpot is one of my favorites also. And I remind me of the Northwest Pinball Championship, the game with Caley George, 8 billion with 7 billion. Oh, you won the Jackpot, that's right.
    30:45
    Jackpot, Twilight Zone and Walking Dead is my favorite game. Walking Dead, yeah, that's a great game. Okay, Daniele, I'm trying to work on my Italian. Tell me how this sounds. Io mangio il pane. To mangio il pane, you eat bread. I eat bread. Okay, I came across. All right, all right. Grazie, my friend. This has been wonderful. All the best to you at IFPA 16 in Italy, and we hope to see you stateside soon. Thanks, Jeff. When you want, you're welcome. Bye-bye, Jeff. Well, there you have it. Daniele Acari live from Italy getting ready for IFPA 16. This has been your Pinball Profile. You can find our group on Facebook. We're also on Twitter at Pinball Profile. Email us pinballprofile at gmail.com. And please subscribe on either iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. I'm Jeff Teolas.