Close Up Magic for Children Archives - Bicycle Cards

John Bannon – Buzzkill – review

Phil Sweeting — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 14:15:54 +0000

John Bannon is the king of packet tricks and Buzzkill is a really fun little fooler with plenty of built in laughs. In essence you have four cards printed with cartoon flies, and four blank ‘fly papers’ – and the fly papers separate from the flypaper and end up getting squashed!

What do you get?

You receive a link to a 19 minute download of the instructions and all the necessary, custom printed cards. There are fun graphics on the cards and on the explanation! As you would expect, everything is clearly explained at an easy pace. The one exception to this is the Elmsley Count – which is not taught. However, if you’ve done any packet tricks in the past you probably know it. And if you haven’t, you should! (We would recommend getting hold of the Elmsley Count Project which is comprehensive in its teaching and also includes loads of great effects).

Variations on a theme

In additional to the version you see in the trailer, two variations are taught.

The first is a ‘fractal’ version. I know John likes to end clean – but I’m not sure the extra hoops to jump through here are really worth the ‘benefit’. You also end up with a discrepant number of cards at the end. Although it is unlikely anyone would notice this and it could be passed off as another ‘mystery’ I’m just not at all sure it is worth it.

My preference would be to do the standard routine, and while the spectator looks at the squashed flies (which is where the attention is), quietly pocket the others. You could have some matching blank cards in your pocket if you really wanted to end clean – but you wouldn’t be able to do that with the supplied cards – so you’d have to buy another set!

The second variation is a handling which goes back to Roy Walton’s Oil & Queens. Interestingly, this is the effect that inspired the effect which inspired this in the first place! I quite like this handling – and it has the extra benefit that you can do it without a table. You’ll need to choose the one that works for you.

Final Thoughts

Buzzkill is a really fun effect which is unusual in that it would appeal to both adults and children alike. So I can see it as a really good trick to have up your sleeve in a walkaround situation where both children and adults may be present. The slight downside is that the re-set isn’t instant – so you’d probably need a minute to yourself to get the cards back in order.

I slightly prefer the graphics and back designs on the cards that John uses in his explanation to the ones that are supplied – but that is a tiny niggle – since there’s nothing wrong with the cards supplied.

It is easy to do and the magic is direct and clear. It’s only a quickie – but I think you’ll enjoy performing Buzzkill and, more importantly, get some good reactions from it.

Buzzkill is available from BBM for £17.99 (at the time of writing).

(Many thanks to BBM who kindly provided the review copy).

PS – I really like James Went’s performance (which isn’t on the download) and I include here for your viewing pleasure:

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Mr Pearl – Brix – review

Phil Sweeting — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 22:06:07 +0000

Brix is a brilliant re-working of a Nick Trost idea (Quadraplex) with a superbly topical Lego theme. As a lifelong Lego fan as well as a magic nut you can imagine I couldn’t wait to review Brix!

The Effect

A spectator shuffles a small pack of cards which are printed with different Lego minifigure body parts. The cards are then dealt on the table and according to the spectator’s choices ‘folded’ up into a packet of face up and face down cards. Nevertheless, your prediction about the number of cards face up and down is correct. You have also predicted the very (unusual!) combination of body parts which have shown up. And in a final kicker, the minifigure ‘pops’ off the card (which is now blank) and materialises in the spectators’ hands.

This is a really fun, quirky effect which would play for adults or children. Lego is always current, and the routine is both interactive and amusing.

Mr Pearl teaches two methods. The first will require you to think a little harder, but seems impossibly fair. The second is a simpler ‘procedure’ from your point of view, but gives the spectator somewhat less freedom (and requires a setup). But neither require what you would call sleights – so this is a very easy effect to perform.

To produce the minifigure will require a very easy bit of sleight of hand. But you have an enormous amount of cover since from the spectator’s perspective the trick is already over.

Explanations are clear – though if you are an English speaker like me you will need to follow the subtitles. There is also a live performance which is always a bonus.

Pros and Cons

As you will have gathered I like this effect a lot. The cards look like the sort of thing my children often play with and the Minifigure is perfect. If I had to be picky, the cards feel a little on the flimsy side, but you could laminate them if you were worried. Or just buy another set when they wear our since Brix is very reasonably priced. The whole thing takes up little room in your pocket and promises to be a great addition to your set.

We think Brix is a real worker. And I have no hesitation in saying it is the best trick I’ve looked at this year!

Brix is available from MagicShop.co.uk for £32.99 (at the time of writing).

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

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Twister Magic – The Magic Tube – review

Phil Sweeting — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 00:01:36 +0000

The Magic Tube is a little different from most of the magic tricks that we review. At first glance, it looks a bit like it might be a children’s magic effect, but as we discovered, it is actually more versatile than that.

What’s in the box?

Well the Magic Tube for a start. Which is just an M&Ms minis tub – and still smells of chocolate! You also get two specially printed silks and a special something – which you may already own… And the almost obligatory link to an online instructional video. This lasts about 30 minutes and has jaunty, verging on annoying, background music. It teaches 5 effects…

The Effects

Travelling Silk and chocolate production – inside an M&M tube is a silk printed with M&Ms. This vanishes in the magician’s hands and reappears in the tube which your spectator is holding. You repeat the vanish of the silk and this time it reappears in the tube, but the M&Ms have vanished from the silk. But when you remove it from the tube, a number of real M&Ms have appeared.

This is the ‘base’ routine and it is nicely constructed with a few neat little subtleties. I think it would appeal particularly to children – and his son (who features on the live performance) is very cute!

Colour Transformation – I really liked this effect. You pour a few M&Ms out of a tube and then with the help of 2 spectators eliminate all but one. Suddenly all the remaining M&Ms change to the colour chosen. This uses a force which is well known but which works brilliantly with M&Ms – especially when using 2 spectators. Great idea.

Colour Revelation – Another mindreading effect where you can reveal how many M&Ms a spectator has secretly removed from a tube. And then reveal all the colours of them too. This is a really subtle little routine. I like it a lot.

There’s another routine which is a sort of a variation on these last two where the M&Ms change into the same colour in the spectator’s hand. But I thought this lacked something of the directness of the other two.

Raising M&Ms This is the 5th ‘bonus’ effect and is a bit random! You pour some M&Ms out of the tube. Then the remaining M&Ms ‘rise up’ and overflow out of the tube. You’ll require a few extra things not included to perform this – if you really want to – but they’re all readily available. I thought this was a bit of a lame duck…

Final Thoughts

I always think that live performances can be really helpful in assessing a magic trick and so it was good that all the routines on The Magic Tube are performed to ‘real people’ – though the ‘signature’ routine was only to his young son!

The mind-reading effects were both very effective and made the use of ‘The Magic Tube’ effectively invisible – where else would you store M&Ms. I like the way the effect focuses on the sweets in these routines and the subtlety of some of the ideas. As mentioned at the beginning, they are also suitable for adults taking this out of the realm of a purely children’s effect.

Perhaps best of all, you get to eat a lot of M&Ms in preparation and in practise!

The Magic Tube is available from MagicShop.co.uk for £37.50

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

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Bicycle Cards for kids – Bicycle Froots

Phil Sweeting — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 11:31:03 +0000

We often like to highlight the latest Bicycle Cards – but Bicycle Froots aren’t that new. However, a friend at my local magic club showed me them the other day and I thought they were worth plugging.

Bicycle Froots are playing cards where the suits have been replaced with Froots (FRUITS!). This makes them ideal for working with children because they can more easily remember apple or strawberry (for example) than clubs or spades.

The pictures are bright and colourful and my friend tells me he has even been doing card to wallet for children with these cards. Standard Rider back but gorgeous, colourful, memorable pictures on the front. Well worth a look if you’d like to do a bit of close up or card magic for children. Currently £13.50.

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Close Up Magic for Children – 2

Phil Sweeting — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 00:01:09 +0000

Here’s our second post with ideas on the subject of performing close up magic for children (see first post here – for why we think this is useful).

The trick I use most with smaller children is the sponge egg to dinosaur/dragon. It’s easy to do, takes up little space, is very visual – and the kids love the cute dragon/dinosaur. And dinosaurs and dragons are ALWAYS on trend. If you wanted to go a stage further, why not do a sponge ball to cube first, then swap cubes ready for a further transformation? Great value at £14.99.

The colouring book is another classic children’s effect, and now, wonderfully, a pocket sized version is available so there’s no excuse not to carry it around everywhere! This is a very inexpensive purchase for those occasions when it might just come in handy – at only £3.49.

Do you have effects you keep on stand by in case you meet any children on your walkabout magic gig? Why not share your ideas in comments below – we might even include the best in future articles.

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Close Up Magic for Children – 1

Phil Sweeting — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 00:01:58 +0000

We’re starting a new periodic mini-series on Bicycle-Cards.co.uk, all about close up magic for children! Why, you might well ask!

Well, I often find myself performing close-up walkaround magic at events which I gear up primarily for adults. But what if some children are at the event? Many (though not all) of the effects we might use for adults don’t really play well for children. For those of us who are not regular children’s entertainers are there some effects which we can have up our sleeve (or more likely in our pocket!) which would help us in that situation?

I’m going to be recommending one or two effects I’ve come across which fit the bill in a series of posts in the coming weeks and months. Wherever possible I will have road-tested them on real children!

So to start us off here are two ideas, both of which take up very little pocket space, but work well. The first is a packet trick which is very light on moves but heavy on story. It’s an Emerson and West classic called Gourmet Mouse. To an amusing patter story about a mouse who likes cheese and cheesecake, first the cheesecake disappears, then the cheese, and finally the mouse – leaving a very smug looking cat behind!

This wouldn’t work for the youngest aged children, but would be ideal for slightly older ones who would love the story. And it would be fine for adults too. I picked mine up when it was half-price, but at £6.49 it won’t break the bank!

My second suggestion is a mini-change bag, and the one we have is the Vincenzo Di Fatta Mini Plus Version. This pretty much does what it says on the tin – so with this tiny little bag you can do vanishes, appearances or changes. I don’t think I am telling you anything you can’t get from an advert when I say that it comes with a thumb tip. The one supplied was a bit small for me – but you’ve probably got one anyway, right? But it does come with the sils necessary for a tiny blendo effect. This is very visual and gives lots of opportunity for fun with the children. And it all takes up fairly minimal pocket space. Good value at £8.49.

That’s all for now – but we’ll have more suggestions in the future, including thoughts on which ‘adult’ effects will play well for children. Do comment with your own ideas which we can try to incorporate.

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