I like the principle and it probably has some good implications. But for any trick that requires I bring something else around with me (I'm an amateur) it really needs to pay off with a big punch. This is a good effect, but the majority of the effect can be written off pretty easily a having some sort of special system with the cards. The last act (with cards face down) is what really pays it off and makes it a great trick. With all that said, I'd recommend giving it a try.

Stegosaurus is a very fun routine to perform. The video and PDF are both clearly explained and it gives a great new routining to an old concept; Phill has come up with a series of phases that build up and help cancel out methods by the time you're finished performing. At first I was a bit worried that this wouldn't be easy to translate into Spanish, but I was able to do it on the first day, it was a lot easier than I imagined and Phill was very helpful too. Get this and add a nice routine to your arsenal. Also, try to figure out the title, a very nice concept indeed.

Great effect and Phil is a Great teacher. (Thank you Phil)He makes it easy to understand and also includes a PDF file with everything simply explained in 12 pages! Also includes other sets of words in a "Horror" movie theme (Great for Halloween shows)and explains to create your own "themed" words. Hats off also to the Penguin crew for your quality video production/s.

Spectators get led down a natural path that seems more conversational than anything. It isn't a "Wanna see a trick?" style effect since it starts off more like a game before adding a surprising little bit of "wow" factor in the second phase, culminating in a completely inexplicable finale. It builds up so naturally people won't even realize its a trick until the last phase, and by then they'll be begging you to pull it off. Just make sure you have a good story to go with it - there are so many believable directions you can take this.

For the record, I bought one of those $1.00 newsprint word/number puzzle books, giving the visual suggestion that the game is innocent enough. Instead of tidy looking index cards, I am using 2 torn 8.5x11 pages to make it look more impromptu and capitalize on The Jerkz hack for the 3rd phase.

The accompanying PDF is great, and the inclusion of the (massive) word list makes the trick endlessly customizable to your own style and personality. I will be making several wordlists so that I have something for every occasion.

PS: I saw some people moaning about not getting pre-printed cards. Why would you want this to look like a gimmicky trick when hand-written cards is such a huge convincer here? Think of the visuals - *nobody* carries professionally printed lists of random words and letters around that conveniently work in a magical trick yet serve absolutely no other purpose...

I love this trick! Phill Smith is an excellent teacher and seems to anticipate all the questions I had ahead of time. I buy lots of Magic from Penguin and when I come across a magician who has developed a workable, reliable and fascinating effect my next thought is "so what else have they developed". I can't wait to see what else Phill has up his sleeve, no pun intended!

A truly great routine. Its already perfect and you can still add your own style to each phase and customize it for your needs. Phill is really generous and if you have any problem iam sure he will help you. Its deceptive! its solide! its customizable! it might fool and entertain anybody! I love it and you will too

I love the method and Phil explains everything very clearly.
What really sells it for me is how flexible it is. I have already created 3 more custom word lists on the first day!
One of the word lists was a set of 1900 five letter first names that I will need for the routine I am putting together.
Phil was incredibly helpful with this list and adapted my names within minutes after contacting him. You can't beat a response like that!
I am working on a stage sized version of the props right now. The new lists I have created will let me do a slightly different ending which I think will really add to the impact.
Once I test everything out I'll send a copy of what I have done to Phil in case someone else can use what I have done.
Great work Phil!

I love this effect! It is so much fun to perform. Phill has also provided a huge list of over 8,000 words, in English, that can be used to create a variety of lists to personalize performances. He also has lists in many other languages.

My criteria as an ok amateur is that the magic should be different, unexpected, not difficult, and run for more than a few seconds. Stegasaurus certainly "does the trick".

Phil mentioned incorporating this with another trick and Binary from Rick Lax came to mind. It appears to be super-human memorization in a few parts, takes about as much skill as Stegasaurus, but fits perfectly to create a routine. The Penn and Teller demo is just amazing, but it still impresses as a table version that I can do. Watch it on Penguin Magic.

I haven't looked at the pdf yet, but it would be great to have a set of words oriented toward real estate brokers, restaurants, lawyers, etc. for those of us in sales or support.

I'm very impressed with his method of using this principle. I will certainly use it in my act. It's worth the price.