You tell your spectator that you will do a card trick without cards. You ask them to think of a black or red card, a court card or a number card, a specific suit and they never tell you the actual card they are thinking of until they are holding a Sharpie so that they can write the name of the card down on a piece of paper. But, a small snag… the Sharpie doesn’t write! The magician apologizes and tells the spectator that sometimes the marker gets jammed. When the magi opens the pen, the thought of card is actually inside the Sharpie. It is quite an amazing effect. This is super cool, super astonishing and super awesome!
So, for $55 you get an awesome gimmick, some necessary special cards and a 48 minute password protected instructional video taught by Abstract Effects owners The Other Brothers.
I really like the gimmick and the effect and the incredible moment of astonishment that Summit delivers, but I have a few reservations.
First, the thought of card is not any card in the deck. That’s ok, but the promo video says that there is no equivoque and that is just plain false. I don’t know why it says that since this trick is dependent on a bit of equivoque. While the competent magician makes the spectator feel like they have picked any card in the deck, that is not the case. In fact there is a significant portion of the instructional video that discussed equivoque.
Second, part of the gimmick is hard to use… obviously, you need to get a selected though of card from somewhere and into the Sharpie. The part of the gimmick that makes that magic happen gets stuck and can be a bit stiff and this can really blow the effect. I need to sand down my gimmick and that is not something that I should have to do. Furthermore, one of the pieces that are needed to permit you to choose any one of the 12 cards broke and I unsuccessfully tried to repair it with crazy glue and have not yet figured out what I am going to do. I am bummed about that because I want to use this and right now I cannot. The idea is awesome, the execution is less so.
Third, the thought of card cannot (should not) be handed out to the spectator or your run the risk of exposure and embarrassment.
The instructional video is well taught by the Other Brothers who are sitting in front of a stationary camera. They teach the trick quite well.
Assuming that the gimmick was not fiddly, this is very easy to perform. I don’t think this is for an absolute novice, but not much experience is needed to perform this trick. You will need to have some confidence in performing this trick and know how to find the off-beat to get everything in place.
The ad copy states:
“ “Absolutely genius – a true piece of magic!”
– Piff the Magic Dragon
“It’s the trick of the year for me.!”
– Ekaterina
From the minds of Patrick Kun, The Other Brothers & Abstract Effects –comes a thought of card to Sharpie unlike anything you have EVER seen!
Even includes a routine and method for ONLINE performances.
At last, a thought of card to Sharpie that has NO card switches, NO sharpie switches, and a PRACTICAL yet mind-blowing method.
Your spectator THINKS of a card. You hand them a sharpie to write down what they are thinking of…but to their surprise, the sharpie doesn’t actually work.
You take the sharpie from the spectator, and WITHOUT ANY MOVES, and while keeping the Sharpie IN VIEW THE ENTIRE TIME…you open it up to REVEAL a card rolled up inside.
The spectator still HAS NOT SAID, OR EVEN written down their card.
Then the spectator is asked to name their card. With NO switches or moves of ANY kind, the card is turned over and is the EXACT card the spectator named – EVERY TIME!
NO card switches or sharpie switches!
The gimmick is designed for easy use with a super practical method and ability to keep the gimmick on you wherever you go so you’re ready to blow some minds at a moment’s notice.
Summit comes with everything you need to perform right out of the box, and can be reset easily so you’re always ready to perform! Great for beginners to workers & pros!”
I really love this trick and am a bit disappointed by the gimmick construction as noted above. I have contacted the Other Brothers by social media and I will update this post if and when I get a response. Until then, the rating is on hold.
Thanks to Murphy’s Magic I was able to do this honest review for my people!
