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I got this the other day and thought it was brilliant. it has got everything you need to know from the beginner to the advanced.

Well recommended.

posted 3 times? also will there be a full review?

can we get a full review perhaps? (there's a template available for you)

Since nobody has posted a review, I'll just stick this short one on here. Please note that this is for the Magic Makers 4 DVD set, NOT the 5 Disc L&L version with Paul Wilson.

The Effect

Royal Road to Card magic 4 DVD set (Magic Makers version)

Cost

£20 new on ebay. £30 retail

Difficulty 3
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

Review

I had a bit of a moment of madness, due to this going cheaply on Ebay, and after some of the things I've heard about this set, I was somewhat dreading receiving it. I'm pleased to say it's actually not nearly as bad as I suspected, and I've actually rather enjoyed learning from it. The discs work fine in my DVD player, but strangely don't in my computer's DVD drive.

Unfortunately at the start of each DVD, you get a message from Rob Stiff, explaining smugly how "grateful" he is to produce this set, blah blah blah. If it had been him doing the teaching, I would have probably enjoyed it less.

The actual tuition is done by Rudy Hunter (The guy of Hunter/Zarrow shuffle notoriety), who seems to be a bit more down to earth, and can obviously handle a deck of cards. He comes across quite well, and covers quite a lot of what is in the book (Certainly all the techniques, and a good selection of the tricks). There are also a few things in there that aren't in the book, just because he likes them and finds them useful. Everything I've seen on there is well explained, although I haven't learned all of it yet

Reports had suggested that the camera angles on this set were bad, but I'm pleased to say I haven't found that a problem. Being a newbie to cards, I was expecting to possibly have trouble seeing what was going on, but so far that hasn't been a problem.

Overall

If you want a relatively cheap accompaniment to the book, then this may be worth a go. I personally have found it helpful to see how things should look. The Paul Wilson version (which I don't own) is reportedly far superior, and contains more teaching, however it does cost more than twice the price. I can't really comment on the quality of the techniques shown in this, as I'm very new to cards (Eg. The royal road book seems to be quite keen to use the exact correct grips, and this seems to have less emphasis in the DVD set. I'm unsure how important this is considered to be these days)

I understand there's a history behind magic makers which means some people are reluctant to buy their products, but if you can cope with the shame of it, this set is not bad at all.

It would be great if somebody who owns the Wilson version could post a brief review just as a quick comparison.

Just a quickie to say that Repromagic are offering the HARDBACK version of Royal Road for only £9.95! see http://www.repromagic.co.uk

DrTodd wrote:Just a quickie to say that Repromagic are offering the HARDBACK version of Royal Road for only £9.95! see http://www.repromagic.co.uk

A good price indeed for a hardback. If however you can live with a download, Lybrary.com are doing it for less than £3: http://www.lybrary.com/royal-road-card-magic-p-35.html

While I'm very fond of hardbacks, I personally find it difficult to learn practical physical things from them, as I need to be using both hands in order to read them. I find it difficult to try what's being written without having to put a bookmark in, close the book, try the material, reopen the book etc... Generally I find bound manuscripts that lay flat, or ebooks better.

Hmm...yes I can see your point. I guess I am old-fashioned. I learned all my stuff in the old media and like the preservation of a book. I like dipping into books as an when (e.g. in the bog) and then think about the effects for a while. Download for 3 squid sounds very reasonable indeed.

This may sound odd, and its not something that I had ever thought of, but when i started reading the RRTCM (book) i struggled with the guides on how to hold the card. Personally i am not 100% certain on the names for all of the fingers/parts of the fingers (as silly as that may sound) and i found the descriptions/pictures hard to follow. I am right handed in writing (though not when i eat a meal). I find that holding it in the opposite hand to how they describe is often easier for me. After watching the DVD and looking at card handling I can often hold the cards easier. I have this DVD and it has taught me soooo much. I'd highly recommend it to anyone starting off as it goes through the most basic things!!!