talkmagic.co.uk

Zoltar from Alchemy Moon

http://www.alchemy-moon.co.uk/zoltar.htm

£17.80 for now.

Like lots of the people on here into mentalism I am a sucker for a mentalism card that i can carry in my wallet, from the sanctum cards to Paul brook cards. This one sounded a little different to the others that are available, by offering a cold reading aspect and also a billet use which I thought was intriguing.

My Zoltar card arrived all shiny and new in beautiful garish colours reminiscent of the fortune telling booths from the fair. The accompanying book is also beautifully produced, this exudes quality and attention to detail.

This card can be so much or so little depending upon your requirements and ambition.

At its most simple it is a great introduction to cold reading, the beauty of this, also being that you don’t have to master a long list of stock phrases, the prompts are there right before your eyes. Your readings can be as simple or as complicated as you want.

The other use for the zoltar card I dont want to go into too much detail about here, I will let you discover it yourself, this particular method I haven’t come across before. Again this can be used with the cold reading.

I have used the cold reading part of the card, as i have mentioned it is straight forward and simple in its use.

There is also a lot more to this card than is mentioned in the booklet. There are multiple outs hidden on the card and I suspect further things I haven’t yet worked out too, as there is going to be a further book coming out soon to go with the card.

The purchase of the card also gives you access to a private forum, which looks promising, although the card has just been released the creator has also posted additional thoughts and ideas on the use of the card.

Difficulty 1 -2 easy to do, but to master will take time and practice if you want to come over as the real thing.

Overall, yes this will be joining the others cards in my wallet as it gives some different options to the cards that are already in there.

9 out of 10 because nothing is perfect.

The main effect is a good adaptation of a well known principle. It offers a good introduction to cold reading or an actual reading. In the future a further Zoltar release will be examining cold reading in more detail. I think the card itself will engage audiences.

The card also contains additional effects. Some revealed through the forums, some have not been..... yet.

Alchemy moon obviously have intentions for Zoltar to to develop a lot more. I think it's well worth the purchase to be on board from the start. As mentioned a book is on the way. A hand aged edition is also on the way. This is my only criticism that I expected it to look older, but this future release will solve this for me.

Since the release the creators have already worked out an improvement to the design. Rather than selling it on as Zoltar mark 2 they have offered a free card with the change made rather than expecting you to pay up again. Which I think shows excellent service if nothing else.

This may not be for everyone, to some it may not seem like much, but it's pretty cheap compared to many similar magic effects. If your willing to put in time on this I can see it will reward you. With the possibilities of bonus effects and expansions over time it seems well worth the money. For bizarre magicians and mentalists it offers a good wallet filler, that creates opportunities for entertaining groups with both the main effect and the cold reading. Could be delivered as a quick piece or as a longer talking piece.

My Zoltar card kit arrived late last week and from a very cursory and initial scan/play about with it I can see this is seriously good stuff. OK, right out of the box it looks a bit like a brand new lottery card but it can easily take on the patina of age each time it's used.

Plenty of aspects to use or ignore depending on your own style but it certainly gives a strong point of focus for readings, plus the very nice 'hidden in plain sight' point about the use of a billet. Although some excellent hints and tips are included, there's no reason why you have to stick to any particular set of interpretations, your existing method will be fine!

This is one "wallet card" which is going to be living in my wallet rather than the back of the cupboard.

I hope to try it out properly in a couple of days before I comment in more detail.

Barry

Yes as someone who hasnt really done cold reading it is great to get the prompts right before your eyes.

reading all the comments I couldn't resist it and would like to say I'm impressed with both the site and, communication which living in India is important to me. I'm looking forwards to receiving Zoltar.

roddy wrote:reading all the comments I couldn't resist it and would like to say I'm impressed with both the site and, communication which living in India is important to me. I'm looking forwards to receiving Zoltar.

I don't think you'll be disappointed. I live in Korea and I've gotten my orders very quickly. Zoltar is great and my Elite Cussing Cards are wonderful to look at. They smell good, too!

Customer service has been excellent. Enjoy.

I'm waiting for my Zoltar to arrive, and am actually as excited as when I first discovered the Outlaw website, it seems to inject a fresh take on mentalism, and whilst bizarre magic isn't my most well versed area in magic, the sense of mystery and intrigue and alluring dark element holds a great fascination for me.

"Big" was on FilmFour last night, which has always been a childhood favourite film, and certainly at one point I aspired to grow up and have a large apartment with a trampoline, vending machine and pin ball machine, before I grew up and my goals and ambitions changed. However, there is still a very much child like sense of wonder, especially with magic, as the sense of buying effects and them arriving in the jiffy bag is reminiscent of the excitement of buying a toy and unwrapping it.

Anyway, flowing from this I think it would be a great emotional hook to talk about favourite 80s films, and no doubt everyone will have Big up there, along with Back To The Future and The Goonies, and possibly Big Trouble In Little China: these films have a timeless quality. Of course, film memorabilia is very plausible, and so you could introduce the idea of being fascinated about the concept of the Zoltar machine, and actually sourcing the Zoltar Speaks card, as the Zolta machine iteslf was ridiculously expensive, and is just a replica anyway. I would go into the plot of Big very briefly before introducing and setting up the themes of the Zoltar card. I've yet to receive the card, so have yet to learn as to the mysterious use of the card, but needless to say I am eagerly anticipating the post!

I've just received my Zoltar and was not disappointed and despite the weather , Christmas post etc. it arrived in good time. After purchase you get access to a very interesting forum - which is different to many others - with great ideas. Highly recommended.

I received Zoltar last week and it is a wonderful looking and well-thought out tool which could give the novice reader the experience to develop their skills.

Alchemy Moon are ones to watch, some great and unique items coming from their underground hideout. There will be a feature on AM in a forthcoming Mystic Menagerie, the UK is getting ahead of the game when it comes to bizarre effects and prop makers.

I couldn't get their site to load, Is anyone else having issues?

Site is down for now more details here

http://alchemymoon.wordpress.com/latest-news/

In the meantime a few products are still available through magicbox

http://www.magicbox.uk.com/magic-tricks ... magic.html

I love the fact that Zoltar got such a warm reception here!

Those of you who still use the card might be interested in this - and those of you who don't just might want to dig it out again...

“Zoltar’s Stars” is simple and direct method to divine a star sign without progressive anagrams and with no information written down or spoken aloud.

Using four cards from an old Zoltar cabinet, just like the one in the film ‘Big’ – this system enables a fascinating and revealing exploration of a sitter’s attitude towards fortune-telling, as well as a baffling Zodiac revelation.

The effect can stand alone, but sits especially well alongside almost any oracle or reading system. Due to its fairground theme, "Zoltar's Stars" is a natural fit for Alchemy Moon’s beautiful Kadar range.


NB: Beautiful leather card case not included.

£5 to buyers in the UK, £7.50 (approx. 9 Euro or 12.50 US Dollars) to the rest of the world.

SPECIAL FREE BONUS:
There is a special bonus available only to customers who provide proof of purchase of Peter Turner and David Sena's incredible "Isabella's Star". These buyers will receive a fifth card, enabling performers to reveal the participant's exact date of birth.

More information HERE.

I gave up with the original Zoltar because the promised additional effects were never revealed.

Barry

magicofthemind wrote:I gave up with the original Zoltar because the promised additional effects were never revealed.

Hmm. I missed that, probably because I arrived very late at the Zoltar party. I have seen a lot of posts talking about the card being capable of "more than meets the eye" and so on.

I'd assumed they were referring to the m******e o**s for the various object choices (flower, star, house etc) and the fact you could cut a slot in it and perform a cheeky b****t s****h.

I wonder what additional effects were planned. Very mysterious. You have me intrigued now.