The Genii Forum

I've recently developed a fondness for that class of card effect wherein the playing cards are transformed in off beat ways.

I've studied the Mike Powers/Doug Conn masterpiece The Defective Deck and Dominique Duvivier's Printing and I'm aware of Daryl's Presto Printo variation.

Are there any other effects of this type out there that I should investigate?

Links to video demos would be appreciated. These effects seem to be pricey due, no doubt, to all the "special parts".

thanks in advance,
bill

I once bought a simple packet trick called Falling Pips by Tommy Wonder. You show a packet of cards, tap them on the table and then show that on each card all the pips have fallen into a heap at one end. It was a long time ago and I can't even remember who was selling it.

There was another packet trick (I used to collect them years ago) called Transprint, in which the pips of one card end up printed on the back of another one. This was probably from Supreme or Repro Magic in England - I could probably find out, though again it was a long time ago.

Daryl also used to sell something called Half and Half, using playing cards. He how has what seems to be the same thing with business cards (Half and Half 2), and I also noticed a version called Escheresque on his website (http://www.foolerdoolers.com/store/productsatoz.asp) as well as a Mismade Card and something called Easily Influenced.

Paul Harris's Twilight Angels does nice things to the back of a card.

Dave

I remember "Bicycle Built for Five" being kind of a neat assembly of five jokers on one card. It's still being sold on several sites, I think.

Fraser

There are too many to list here, but off the top of my head there's the "Centrifugal Fours" (Rocco? McBride?) where the pips fly to the edges of a card when it's spun, the Japanese tricks where the backs of two cards visibly change from red to blue as they're passed over one another, the Ton Onosaka trick with the four Kings turning suicidal, Don England's "Elastic Lady."

Check out the November Genii for Steinmeyer's "Trap Door" card, there's the Jennings triock where a card visibly passes from atop to below another card, Solomon/England's "Cig thru Card/" and, as I say, too many more to go into here, including card faces which fade away gradually.

Matt Field

After reading 'Tubthumbing', I'm more than willing to help Sir Duncan with his pursuits...

Here's a few 'card pip oddities' to add to your list:

Sawa has some very interesting ideas using 'misprinted cards'... Check "Sawa's Library of Magic Volume #1" for: "Moses", "Heavy Ink" and "Back Design"

Kaufman's "Cardmagic" has an interesting effect called "Snapshot" (using a 'negative card'...black with white printing.)

Re: "card faces which fade away gradually."

Check out: Appartition Too (P.23 "Complete Works of Dingle") R.Kaufman also makes reference to an earlier version published in "Cardworks" (a book that is not in my library.) "The Crystal Ball" (another version of "Apparition") is also in "Cardmagic" (p. 179.)

I also remember a recent Sankey effect where he magically moved just one pip on a card (the name of his effect escapes me.)

Thats my 2 cents (plus some!)

Good luck on your quest.
Doug Conn

Thanks Doug,
I just remembered one that I haven't done in a dozen years.
Point Blank by Jamy Ian Swiss and Geoff Latta. It's in the blue New York Magic Symposium book (volume 4).

A killer routine based on Vernon's "Picking Off The Pip" color change. It has everything you could want in a card trick, visuality, comedy, magician failure, etc. and it's hard enough that not everybody and his brother will be doing it.

That reminds me, there's something in David Regal's "Close Up and Personal" where a card appears to become transparent with the pips still on it. Not difficult to do either.

And there's a Picking Off the Pip effect in "Carneycopia" using regular cards. Show the 3 of diamonds, pick off the centre pip and transfer it to a 4 of diamonds to make it change to the 5.

Sorry I can't remember the titles, but I'm sure you'll find them.

Carney also has a 'pip tranformation' where he turns a "6" upside down to make it a "9" (it's also in Carneycopia... and I also can't remember the name... and I have no energy to go upstairs and look it up :sleep: ) Oh.. one more thing (re: Changing a 6 to a 9) For what it's worth, I always thought a face-up Cervon "Free-Turn" pass is the perfect M.O. for the transformation (the Free Turn is much easier w/one card and the turning of the deck is justified in the presentation.)

and then theres...
ah... nm...
someone else take a turn...

Conn

With a normal deck I believe tha Paul Cummins' PIPS! in his FASDIU notes is the best version of the pip transformation plot. The routine goes full circle with regard to where the pips go creating a very satisfying ending. It has become a request item for me. ("Do that thing with the Diamonds...")

With regard to changing a 6 to a 9 or vice versa Steve Draun's Midnight shift works very well there too.

Cheers,
Rich Kameda

Neil Lester of CARDS BY MARTIN sells an effect called Slippery Spots and the set consists of a 5 of Spades with the pips moved to the edge of the card and a 5 of Spades where all the pips have assembled in one of the corners.

-Marty

Check out my marketed effect, "MUTANZ." Here's what one purchaser said about it:

"I have absolutely blown away the lay audiences with this effect. The ending has such a startling climax to them that they just sit there slack jawed. They are even a little afraid to touch the cards."

Now that's a scary trick.

Does Card Warp count?

luigimar

You can check out two great effects: Michael Close's "The Frog Prince" in his "workers" volumes and on video. Uses origami with a playing card and a great plot line. Also, there is another packet trick from Harry Anderson called "Gang of four" in which the pips from four separate chosen cards appear on the final card...and many, many others

Gang of Four ROCKS! But it's expensive to do...

I'm mostly looking for effects in which the printing on the card(s) changes in some way, rather than effects like Card Warp where something topological happens.

I have this silly idea that suspension of disbelief is easier had if the change appears gradual or subtle.

The David Regal effect mentioned is "The Half Deal". It's a neat little visual quickie where you apparently deal the ink off the card, leaving you with a blank card and a transparent card with the pips on it.

While we're on the David Regal subject, Pasteboard Massacre is another nice effect that may fit the category.

Simon Lovell's Hyperpoke is pretty nifty. It's similar in a sense to Pasteboard Massacre, except in this instance, you stab your finger through the top of the deck and stop right at the selected card.

Simon also has another great effect called Heartless. It starts out as a rather ordinary Ambitious Card sequence, except (in typical Lovell fashion) it takes a weird left turn at the end that, while it makes perfect sense, it is totally unexpected and shocking.

-Jim

Three more effects, from Juan Tamariz: on his Lessons in Magic video, there's an effect called "The Carictature" and another called "The Secret of Magic" and one called "Los Centauros". You may find them interesting.

-Jim

Aldo Colombini has an ace assembly in which the four ace pips all end up on one card, called ACE-MBLY & MAT-RICK. See his website (http://www.mammamiamagic.com/advanced_c ... tm#acembly).

Mark Leveridge had a matrix routine where the pips congregate on one card. Can't remember the name though...

Take care, Ian

There's a few Paul Harris goodies in which card surfaces become animated (I was reminded of this while perusing AOA; reviewing "Reflex" and "U. Rip-off" after being insprired by the routines in B.Duncans 'Tubthumping')

"Headache" (a king stabs himself in the head.)
&
"Bleached Blackjack" (a card turns blank and then an ace is formed w/ a pip 'happenstance' along the way.)

+

"10" the Sankey trick where all the spot cards meld into a jumbo (this may or may not count.)

These are all described in Vol 3 of AOA... I haven't perused the other Volumes for card pip/face animations... but I'm sure there's other Harris 'stuff' (someone else can do the research through the other two volumes!)

Next,
Conn

Originally posted by Edwin Corrie:
Aldo Colombini has an ace assembly in which the four ace pips all end up on one card, called ACE-MBLY ...

I'm reasonably sure this was also published in a back issue of the Linking Ring.


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Ace-mbly and Mat-rick were included in a set of Colombini lecture notes called "Top Ten", though I don't know if they are still available.

Paul Harris impromptu blank card effects:

Erase the Ace in Genii September 1985
Bleached Blonde in "Close-Up Seductions"

Bill I have made one up so when we see again just ask me to see it.

I do a sub trunk act with cards and the people touch every thing. I will be shotting my dvd so it will be done before the new year. This effect will be on there. I got the idea from a Paul Harris effect. When I went to Vegas he was there and I showed him. He said he was fooled and it was not like his at all.

Your friend in better magic,
TOBIAS
:genii: