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Master of Illusion (Nintendo DS), Developer: Tenyo, Publisher: Nintendo.

Cost
$29.95 (US only at the moment as far as I can ascertain!

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)

Most “tricks” are a definite 1, whilst some of the more sneaky numbers will require a fair amount of practice to get right 100% of the time without having to think whilst remembering the “system”.


Review
I picked up this cheeky little “game” from a US store recently thinking it would be good to give to my kids to play with.
However, after checking it out first I think I will keep it for myself as the effects are far too clever for their little infant brains.

The “games” are split up into three distinct categories and initially there are limited options as to which tricks you can perform. As you practice the effects and tell the DS whether is was just a rehearsal or that you have performed for an audience, you receive points which then allows you to unlock more devious effects.
You are also limited to how many points you can earn in one day so as not to “rush through” the tricks and to be able to practice one or two new tricks each day before moving on.

The three categories covered are:

1. Solo Magic: These effects can be given straight to a “victim” to simply follow the instructions on the screen whereby the little DS will dazzle and amaze all by its very self. The first effect is the old chestnut of selecting a picture card from a group of five and the little DS will “by magic” make it the only one to disappear when the remaining four are shown.
2. Magic Show: This is where the best effects are found. The DS uses a variety of cheeky methods involving the various buttons, touch-screen and microphone capabilities to determine the identity of a face down card selection or a word chosen from a list of 10 words. One particular effect for the naming of a card involves the magician simply drawing the four sides of a playing card on the screen and the DS will be able to determine the cards identity.
3. Magic Training: Here you are presented with a variety of Solitaire type games and puzzles which help to develop your magician potential. Some are simple card games whilst others are more directly associated with some of the effects within the “Magic Show” section.


Overall

I wasn’t sure quite what to expect from such a title on what is quite frankly a kids console device but I must admit I am pleasantly surprised.
Whilst some of the effects are brain-numbingly simple there are a decent number of the 20 possible options once everything is unlocked to keep even the most astute observer puzzled and amazed.
There is a deck of cards supplied with the games which are marked on the back in a pretty obvious way but you can easily utilize some other method or forcing or a stacked deck to determine the identity of the spectators card without looking at it yourself.
Whilst there are a fair number of card tricks and predictions to amuse you and your audience, there are a fair amount of “other” effects which make us of the DS’s unique characteristics, but it is the card prediction effects which for me are well worth the cash spent on the game.

The number of effects are fairly limited, there are 20 tricks and training aids in total which are supposed to take a week or so to unlock but by simply adjusting the system time it is possible to unlock everything in a couple of days if you are so inclined.

Overall, I would without a doubt recommend this to any of you, simply because of the clever little card prediction effects which are a great little idea for both kids and adult close up performances. I would have concerns that because it is a “game device” that the audience might not take it quite so seriously as they might otherwise which is a shame because the secrets behind the some of the effects are really quite devilishly clever.

As a serious piece of magical “kit” I’d give it a 7/10 but some of the ideas and effects contained within the overall package I’d give a big thumbs up 9/10.

IF it ever comes out in the UK go out and buy it straight away and buy every copy you can find to the kids don’t learn all the secrets before you can!
Otherwise, import from the US!

It was originally released in Japan back in 2006. There was a 3rd party made guide that you could get that had rough translations to English. Good times.

It's definately fun to play around with and I give credit to Nintendo for working with Tenyo on the project.

I was given this for xmas.

Some things I would add:

I agree, there are many clever tricks in this "game," I would add that they are very unconventional to magicians, since all your slights are not with the normal apparatus.

The cards are kinda fun, even if they are a bit obvious, its not like your going to find a marked deck that looks like that every day.

The magic "training is a bit far fetched, (since when has the ability to be a human stopwatch been important to being a magician?) but they are still entertaining and will probably be the main thing you will use when your not doing magic for someone after you have opened all the effects.

This is a really good review, I requested one a few months back before I was given the game, I guess no one had it at that point.