Chris Congreave is well known for knocking out clever and effective close up magic which isn’t too difficult to do and Diception is just such an effect. Here’s how it plays.
The spectator has a choice of using one, two or three dice. You deal down to the playing card at that number and it is found to match a prediction made earlier on a contrasting-backed playing card. The prediction names both the number and the card! It’s that simple.
What do you get?
You get all the necessary cards to make up a ‘Diception Deck’, three plastic dice and a link to download or view the 21 minute instructional DVD. The video is clearly shot and well explained and includes a nice live performance too.
As hinted at above, you will need to spend a little bit of time making up the deck which enables this bit of wizardry. It will only take you ten minutes to do and once you’ve set it up you can use it as many times as you like since the effect basically re-sets itself. It is not difficult to set up but you will need to watch one part of the explanation carefully to make sure you write on the right cards!
What do we think?
The basic routine is extremely easy to perform – and really falls into the self-working category. There are a number of slight variations taught which require a tiny amount of sleight of hand. But for my money they make the effect much more impressive and are well worth the small extra effort (the only real ‘moves’ are well covered and there is very little heat on them so this should be well within the reach of most).
Strong points are that the thing basically resets itself instantly so you are ready to go again straight away. The outcome is different every time. It is easy to do. I think the use of dice adds interest and makes the whole thing seem incredibly fair. Chris credits Cameron Francis’ excellent Annihilation Deck as part of the inspiration for this routine.
Slight negatives are that it is much easier with a table (though you could use a spectator’s hand as a table) and that the dice provided are very basic. Though that does take any heat off the dice, I will probably upgrade to a set of casino dice (like Chris uses in his explanation and performance) which are a little more interesting and aesthetically pleasing. It is also really a one-trick deck – not necessarily a problem for the amateur, but for the pro when pocket space can be an issue it might be.
But these are extremely tiny niggles. And we think this is a super-strong and fooling effect which is easy to do. Nice one Chris!
Available from MagicShop.co.uk for £30.50 at the time of writing.
Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.
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