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The Effect
"New Routines! Extra Cards!

Telepathy Cards are based on a diabolical principle credited to Bob Fillman and Tan Hock Chuan. Briefly: 6 ungaffed envelopes are shown, each with an ordinary, white card inside. A spectator selects any card, signs it, then turns it over and puts it back into the envelope. All the envelopes are closed, then thoroughly mixed. After the mixing, no one - the spectators or the performer - knows which envelope contains the selected card.

The performer deals the envelopes into a row on a table and has a spectator select one...it is the correct envelope with her signed card! Instead of having the spectator locate the envelope, the performer can hold each one to his forehead one at a time to get a mental impression, then set aside one envelope - the one containing the selection!

Note: The envelopes are identical and are not marked in any way. The performer cannot see into the envelopes and does not get any clue from any of the envelopes. Each card is identical in size, shape and color. I’ve demonstrated this effect hundreds of times and often would tell my audiences that the envelopes are ordinary...they come from an office supply store. The cards are cut from ordinary poster board. “If you pay me the replacement costs, you can have them!”

The method is so subtle and fool-proof, that it is the perfect principle for many routines, from standard magic effects, to mentalism. The props can be thoroughly examined. Effects can be repeated. Even if a spectator tries to mess things up, you always know the correct answer! For example, if a spectator turns over multiple cards, you’ll know.

Since the 1990s, Chazpro has offered several variations of this popular principle. The most popular has been the sets of Blank Telepathy Cards. With these special cards, the performer can customize effects to a wide range of audiences and themes. These cards are perfect for trade show routines, mentalism and spirit effects, Bank Night tricks and more.

The new Blank Telepathy Card set includes updated instructions with new routines! In several routines, the spectator locates the correct envelope. In a Bank Night Effect, spectators take turns selecting envelopes, leaving the last one for the performer....the money envelope!

Easy to do, yet mind boggling!"

Cost
£10 + postage
Available from The Card Collection

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)

4
I've rated this a four but it does not require "advanced sleights" as such; see below for details.

Review
Included in the pack:
30 blank mental telepathy cards
6 manila envelopes
Instruction sheet


Photo courtesy of The Card Collection

First things first; when I ordered this, they were advertised as containing 50 cards. However, I actually received just 30 cards. I contacted Clive and he promised to send me the missing cards (top marks to The Card Collection, as usual, for customer service). I have since learned that it should come with 30 cards; Clive's website advertised it as containing 50 cards because the previous batch did, indeed, contain 50 cards. But this new batch contains 30. Anyone who orders this will now rightly receive 30 cards. So don't go moaning to Clive.

Got that? Good; moving swiftly on....

I don't know what kind of stock is used for these cards, but it is very thick. The cards are probably at least twice as thick as your average business card, so the quality is high. The envelopes are just large enough to hold a single card. The instructions detail four routines to get you started, but as these cards are a utility item, you can of course come up with your own presentations.

It may be worth noting that my cards were gaffed (yes, they are gaffed!) in reverse to the way which is explained in the instructions. This is not a problem now I know, but it did confuse the hell out of me at the beginning! (And I am easily confused at the best of times....) The instructions state that the cards are "...all the exact same size, shape, weight and color. There is nothing that distinguishes one card or envelope from another!" This statement is 100% correct, yet despite this fact, the cards are gaffed but everything is still fully examinable!

Assuming that you use five or six cards for each performance, then these cards will last five or six performances. At £10 plus postage for 30 cards, this could prove to be pricey. I don't think it would be possible to create your own cards as the way they are gaffed is extremely subtle indeed and would be difficult to replicate. But I have not tried to make my own cards, so I could be completely wrong.

Overall
I'm in two minds about these cards. On the one hand, they are so innocent-looking that from the spectator's perspective they simply cannot be gaffed in any way; this enables you, as the performer, to demonstrate minor miracles with absolutely no apparent explanation. Remember, all the props are freely examinable - cards and envelopes - and you can be totally confident that they will find nothing. But on the other hand, even though the cards are examinable, the way they have been gaffed is so very subtle that is difficult to learn to use them with any degree of confidence. I've been practicing all day and I'm not really confident enough yet to perform with them. For the record, I know Iain Dunford also owns these cards and I'm sure he won't mind me saying that he is also having trouble with them.

Contrary to Chazpro's claims, I think it will take me some time to master the use of these cards; but when I get to that stage, you can be sure I will have a powerful tool in my arsenal with which to baffle my audience.

"Easy to do"? No. If you're after a quick fix, then look elsewhere. "Mind boggling"? Most certainly, not only from the spectator's point of view, but also mine for different reasons!

Score: 8/10

Oo, Oooooh! I've got this one. Great review, and a great product. In fact a bargain at that price, due to the fact that you could make up your own set of these:

http://www.magicbunny.co.uk/phpBB2/view ... ht=chazpro

and still have a load spare. I just got the 5 cards, so yours is a really good deal. I actually thought this to be quite easy to accomplish, but usually find myself double checking. It is incredibly deceptive, and will continue to be if we keep it to ourselves .

An old Chinese principle? I'm sure I read that somewhere. I usually let them pick any two cards and then eliminate one till they've chosen their own choice. The symbol obviously has meaning for them.

Why don't you print some symbols direct onto the cards, then you'll have the effect for good, as it's only the envelopes that really wear out. I was going to say print a symbol on both sides, but a momentary lapse of concentration could lead to something nasty .

I'd imagine that you could contact The Paper Mill to get the right colour of card, that you required, and they'd source it to your requirements, possibly even cutting to size. Then of course you can do what's needed.

Stick with this, as it's a real winner. I'm using really cheap brown envelopes from Staples, You might want to look into these. They are really thin, upside, they are dead cheap and still mask the symbols inside. When they get dirty from handling just bin them. (Or in the words of a crossdresser, RECYCLE!).

Not up my street, but fabulous review!

Sleightech wrote:Oo, Oooooh! I've got this one. Great review, and a great product. In fact a bargain at that price, due to the fact that you could make up your own set of these:

http://www.magicbunny.co.uk/phpBB2/view ... ht=chazpro" target="_blank

and still have a load spare. I just got the 5 cards, so yours is a really good deal. I actually thought this to be quite easy to accomplish, but usually find myself double checking. It is incredibly deceptive, and will continue to be if we keep it to ourselves .

In retrospect and having seen the ESP version, these cards do appear to represent good value for money! Thanks for pointing that out.

Why don't you print some symbols direct onto the cards, then you'll have the effect for good, as it's only the envelopes that really wear out. I was going to say print a symbol on both sides, but a momentary lapse of concentration could lead to something nasty .

That's a good idea and one I will no doubt take up once I've decided what I'm going to do with them.

Stick with this, as it's a real winner. I'm using really cheap brown envelopes from Staples, You might want to look into these. They are really thin, upside, they are dead cheap and still mask the symbols inside. When they get dirty from handling just bin them. (Or in the words of a crossdresser, RECYCLE!).

I already own a number of pay envelopes that I'm assuming will be suitable once the included envelopes wear out. And the more I practice with these cards, the better I am getting. Incidentally, the instructions do suggest a way of checking the cards up to three times during performance in a perfectly natural manner; perfect if you're not sure and need that extra clarification. I'm going to up the score to an eight; I would have scored it higher if it wasn't for the steep learning curve.

I thought using the brown envelopes might help the learning curve, and you won't dirty up the ones supplied.

Been using these for years, they slay the audience!!!! I got a set in the mid 1970s and still use them. They are particularly good when you combine them with a pendulum!

I can feel a bout of CUPS coming on. Especially at that price.

I'm genuinely surprised that they are that price. If they were £20 I believe they'd still sell them, and that's from someone who usually complains about some prices. You're, in a sense, just getting some envelopes and paper, but this is are actually, a lot more.
Printing up your own would give you anything from ancient heiroglyphics to alien symbols found on an ancient Myan carving. You could tailor make them to any event.