The Effect: ESP Origins
Available From: LINK IF YOU LIVE IN EUROPE,
LINK IF YOU LIVE IN THE US (direct link to product doesn't work, so go to the site and search "esp origins")
Cost: 25 Euro (just under 20 quids), 32 Dollars
Difficulty: NA (Difficulty ultimately depends what you want to do with the cards. The routines included range from totally self-working to minor sleights)
(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)
Mark and summary: 8/10 A great looking utility item that comes with a superb selection of quality routines.
Review: I've recently bought myself a set of "ESP Origins" cards and I really like them. They are a newcomer to the (near saturated) ESP testing cards market. If you've ever bought one of the other big players (MK Mod, Royal, Beyond, Anglo, P@r@l@bs etc.) then you pretty much know what you're getting - a set of cards with the now famous Circle, Cross, Wavy Lines, Square and Star designs.
Important stuff first. Are they marked? Yes they are. What are the markings like? I'm glad you asked. They are subtle yet easy to read. You do not to see the full back design to get your read (as with Beyond ESP and P@r@l@bs) but you cannot read from a single corner either (as with MK-MOD and Royal). It is still a single glance read, certainly one of the easier, quicker systems, but not located in the corner of the card.
You get a 25-card (5 each of the 5 symbols) marked set (blue back), an extra marked set of 5 (red back) and a bunch of gaffs (including double backers and double facers). You also get a second, slimline card box in the package that fits a 25-card set and saves on pocket space. Users of the Outlaw Effects 'Reflections' book test (and in fact any Reflecta-Thot based book test) may be interested to learn you also get a marked set of number cards, bearing the digits 1 to 5. You also get 5 blank faced cards with marked backs, which opens up a whole range of possibilities and should get every purchaser's creative juices flowing.
The booklet that comes with the set is pretty cool. It is available in English, so if you're ordering from Marchand du Trucs don't freak out at the sight of all that French text on their site, just specify that English your language choice in the 'Extra Information' box on your order. As an aside, Ludo at MdT (ludo[AT]marchanddetrucs[DOT]com) is great to deal with, able to email in embarrassingly good English and also very tolerant of rusty A-Level French. Anyway, the booklet has 10 illustrated routines, listed below:
Synchosis - Max Maven
Viewed ESP Prediction - Richard Osterlind
My Charlier Shuffle - Armand Porcell
ESPitome Location - Sylvain Mirouf
ESP Vision - Armand Porcell
ESP Taytelbaum - Ludovic Mignon
Protocols - Christian Chelman
Marked Thought - Bob Mason
ESP Mind - Sylvain Mirouf
ESP Assembly - Armand Porcell
Similitude - Armand Porcell
I like these cards very much and they have, for now, become my go-to ESP testing cards. The design is not ultra-scientific, but the backs do state "Designed and Tested in Parapsychology Laboratory". I'm a fan of the slightly grungey design, which is the work of the supremely talented
Sam Hayles.
I've become a bit of an obsessive when it comes to ESP cards and collected most of the available sets. Ultimately I think it comes down to two things: do you like the look of them and do you get on well with the marking system? Well, for me, ESP Origins is the set that ticks both these boxes in the biggest way. They get an 8/10 because there's always room for improvement.
Pics below:
(NB: I also posted this in Ted's superb and encyclopaedic
'ESP Cards' thread but Paul suggested I turn it into a proper official review too.)