The Effect
The performer shows a deck of cards by dribbling them face up from one hand onto the other. He then has a card selected by telling the spectator that he would like him or her to say stop as he dribbles the cards this time face down. (NO FORCE) When the spectator says stop, the performer hands the selected playing card to the spectator telling them to look at it making sure not to let anyone else see their selection and to mentally keep a picture of it in their mind. The performer is then able to read their mind and tell them the name of their freely selected card. He then has another card selected. This time the magician is able to not only read the mind of the spectator, but transfers their thought into the mind of another spectator, enabling them to predict the selection.
Cost
Currently £18.51 from http://www.world-of-magic.co.uk/
Difficulty
(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)
2
No difficult moves, but you must have sufficient dexterity to be able to dribble the cards, and I know that not everyone finds that easy. There's no reason why the performer couldn't change the selection process a bit.
Review
The blurb (see under "The Effect" above) is entirely accurate. There are no forces involved, and the spectator can stop the performer at any point.
The offical description of the product continues:
There are many other possibilities with Card Cognition as any selected playing card is instantly known by the performer! This effect is easy to do, can be repeated, and has no reset. No hard moves to learn, just great magic!
Many different effects can be done with The Card Cognition Deck as you are able to know any selections made by anyone at anytime. Keeping them to yourself or pass that information on to another. The possibilities are endless.
As many of you will realise, it is no great feat to know what card a spectator has selected (well, not to a magician). There are many ways of doing this, even with an ungimmicked deck.
The real selling point of 'Card Cognition' is the option to have a second spectator reveal what card the first one chose. The more experienced among you will know (roughly) what this must involve. The less experienced among you might be baffled. You will probably be disappointed if you buy this just to find out! Patience is a virtue (and also a card game).
Overall
7 out of 10 for me.
This effect does exactly what it claims, and the ability to have a third party name the card is a very nice touch. On the downside, however, the price is a little on the high side for what you get. I didn't think that the "special feature" was quite as good as it might have been (I cannot say more, but must stress that mine works absolutely perfectly). Also, the cards cannot be examined, which I know is a big concern to some of you.
