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FLASH CARDS by Creative Magic

The Effect

A deck of innocent-looking "children's picture alphabet cards". Suitable for doing many standard magic tricks, and includes a clever memorised stack that is stupidly simple and yet fiendishly subtle.


Cost

The memorised deck set includes the deck and explanatory CD. $30.
The deck on its own is $10.

Gimmicked decks are also available at $15 each: one-way force deck, stripper, and Svengali. The stripper and Svengali are available on pre-release terms because Creative Magic is looking for new tricks and routines using them. They will likely be more expensive once routines are selected and DVDs made.

Shipping costs are not included in the above prices.


Difficulty

Depends on what you intend to do with the cards! The basic memorised deck is 1, although presentation should also be considered.


Review

Let's start by describing the deck. The cards are made by the USPCC to their usual standard, including air-cushion finish. The deck includes 52 cards evenly divided among four "suits" -- people, animals, plants (including fruit and veg), and objects -- which are easily distinguished by background colour and shape. Each card has a large cartoonish picture, with the name of the pictured person/animal/thing underneath and its initial letter very large in the upper left corner. All in all, the deck looks exactly like an educational toy or game.

Although the cards look like a child's game, they can be used in many situations other than children's magic. For example, picture a spectator who might not be able to remember or name a playing card -- e.g. slightly drunk, or not speaking good English, or simply someone who doesn't play cards -- it's a lot easier for them to remember a dog or an apple than whether they saw a six or seven, a club or spade. The designs are simple and appealing, and don't look "magic-tricky" like normal cards do.

The stack presented in the memorised deck DVD is incredibly simple, assuming you already know the alphabet. Unlike many stacks, it should take no more than half an hour to memorise -- less if you're already good with memory techniques -- and it will stick in the mind without the need for constant practice. At the same time, there's no obvious pattern to the stacked cards.

The DVD focuses on the stack itself and suggestions about how to memorise it effectively. A simple "mind-reading" presentation is shown, but essentially you're given the tools for use however you prefer.

Apart from the memorised deck, the Flash Cards can be used for any card tricks that don't require the cards to have numbers. Ambitious Horse, anyone?


Overall

The price for the memorised deck set seemed a bit steep, but I don't really regret it. At least refill/replacement decks are available without paying again for information about the stack.

I would recommend the cards themselves to pretty much anyone. Perhaps the memorised deck version only to those who have a particular desire for this.

If you're buying anything else from Creative Magic, you might as well throw in a deck or two of Flash Cards, since they won't add to the postage! (That's what I did!)

A special thanks to Rebekah at Creative Magic, who answered all my questions, took my order via e-mail, and shipped it out at the speed of light!

I've been playing around with the Flash Cards for about a week and have gone from lukewarm to really enthusiastic. I wish I'd bought a second deck so I can play about and not mess up the stack. (Not that the stack is that hard to set up again.)

I've never been keen on cards. I don't enjoy playing card games, and have never been comfortable handling cards. I have trouble identifying cards even when I get a good long stare at them. But these are something else again. They're not card cards, they're just pictures. It makes all the difference psychologically. (It also makes me think laymen might see them as being something other than "oh dear, a card trick".)

It also makes peeking dead easy! The pictures are so big and bright you can glimpse them out of the corner of your eye.

I'm getting more and more excited about these. When I've got the time, I intend to go through my unread card books and find tricks that will go well with the Flash Cards.

I bought two decks as soon as they came out. I work a lot for foreign clients who in some cases speak very little English. I do a little pre-show with one of the guests and explain they should choose a card and think of the subject in their own language. So to their mind you will be trying to guess the word.

During the show, I explain that I asked a spectator to think of a "word" in their own language. I ask them to confirm that they never wrote anything down, told me or any other member of the audience, nor did I show them the word to remember. All true!

I then ask them to think of their word. I explain that we think not in words but in pictures. "can you visualise your word" (I use wording they can understand) I then draw something on a pad. I now ask them to name their word. *&%$£ "Which means?" they reply "Pencil" I then show my drawing of a pencil (or whatever).

As far as the audience are concerned the specator is conjuring up an image of a word they have chosen at random as opposed to remembering an image the saw on a card they chose earlier.

Works for me.