I have a feeling I’m going to catch some flack for this one. I’m sorry but. I really am. I try very hard to be positive on my reviews. However, I also feel a big responsibility to be honest in my opinion and reviews. This code leads me to this unfortunate two star review.

First off, let me say that Simone is very personable, which makes this review harder to give. It is very refreshing to see a woman in magic, a very male dominated art. Please don’t be discouraged by my review. It appears that you are getting great reviews on this trick. Remember that my opinion is simply one of many.

Ok. On to the review.

When I viewed this trick, I immediately felt that the solution was EXTREMELY obvious to even an intelligent layman. Apparently, in reading all the five star reviews, perhaps the solution isn’t as obvious to others as I thought, but still... for me, this personal conclusion would immediately serve as a barrier to doing this trick as part of my repertoire. I would however perform this trick as a casual one off for a friend in a relaxed non-magical period.

While the solution, to me, was obvious, I still wondered how the outs would be tackled if and when they were eventually encountered. This question is why I proceeded with viewing the trick explanation. This is an Osterlind trick. Surely there would be something profound to pull out of this.

There wasn’t.

In fact, not only was the work around not profound for when the spectator doesn’t do as planned in playing the tic-tax-toe game, it wasn’t really a work-around at all! So what do you do when the spectator doesn’t do what he or she is supposed to and the outcome doesn’t match what was desired? The answer? “Let’s play the best two out of three”. Really?!!!!!!

You might as well say “whoops! That didn’t go so well, huh?”

It’s at this point in the trick that a magician would typically somehow turn to an out that would magically show that this was the intended action all along.

Nope. Just a big ol’ “whoops”!

What is ironic and so disappointing is that, within just a couple minutes (literally two or less), I came up with a simple solution to this problem. In fact my solution will dramatically decrease or eliminate the issue from ever occurring in the first place. If you purchased this trick, feel free to reach out to me via gmail... magicthemagicalmagicianofmagic. Yes, that is a real email address. Haha!

Not to rub salt in the wound, but I have to continue with something that drove the nail in the coffin for me. When I finished the explanation video, I was both pleased and relieved to see that there was an additional tip video. “Oh good,” I thought. “They must have figured out these issues and now they’ll redeem themselves.” It was quite the opposite really. Yes, the additional tip video actually is wrong! (For those of you who own this and don’t believe me, stop the video at exactly 1 minute when she says “now it’ll take care of itself”! The next move she actually makes is OBVIOUSLY the wrong one. She could have won by placing the x in the opposite corner! LOL!

I’m sorry. I can’t. I just can’t. It’s a no for me. (I just sounded like a AGT or American Idol coach. Sorry)

Like I said, I hope that Simone will come out with another trick that I can give a glowing review to. But this one is a disappointing flop for me. Even more disappointing is the fact that this is a Richard Osterlind trick.

I know that this trick is getting raving reviews from everyone else. I dunno... maybe I overthink things. It just really seems obvious to me. To each his own. For me, I would be being dishonest to myself, the consumer, and the community if my review reflected more than two stars for this, based on my own unique opinion. The purpose of an honest review is to help others determine whether or not this trick would be right for them... so it wouldn’t be fair to say how I honestly felt, even if everyone else loves it. I say, let the consumer get both sides and dignify him with the ability to balance it all out and make his own decision about purchasing or not. Reviews should unbiased, not with marketing or sales in mind. Sorry. And before you say, well, for the price... NO. I have gotten many tricks at this price point that far surpasses this in every aspect.

An extreme beginner might disagree and really love this. If you’re a beginner, perhaps this is may be a good purchase. (Even then, I don’t think I would have been happy if this was one of my first purchases, to be honest.) But anyone else, please don’t get this. Save it for possibly Simone’s next trick. I’m sure that one will be better.

By the way, I always try to be honest and straightforward in my reviews, while being respectful to the magician. If you appreciate my reviews, can you please click the "Yes" button below beside the question, "Did this review help you?" It's not like I actually benefit in any way by your clicking it... but it would be nice to see if my reviews are helpful or not. I hope they are. If you ever have suggestions or comments or questions about my reviews, please feel free to leave me a constructive comment. I'm just trying to be helpful. I love the Penguin community and hope that I can someday contribute my own product. :-) Thanks for reading and for any (hopefully positive, but either way, at least kind) feedback.

This is a perfect table worker. You don't have to carry a thing and it's completely impromptu. This little gem takes only a few minutes to get the concept and it will be time to use it. It's a catchy prediction to a classic game almost everyone knows. I am actually headed to a Nightclub tonight and this is going with me, I can't wait to use it.

I really like this effect because it is simple to perform and easy to master. This piece uses only pen and paper so it can be done anywhere. Everyone knows how to play tick tac toe and this effect allows you to predict a games outcome. The explanation is easy to follow and you will be doing the trick in no time.

I love impromptu mentalism effects that can be performed anywhere with just a pen and paper. This is a simple, easy to learn trick that you will be ready to perform in just a few minutes. Put a photo in your phone or on a social media site & you're ready to go anytime.

Good for beginners.

When I first heard the name of this effect, it drummed up lots of memories playing this game when I was a kid, sometimes just to pass the time. Winning was always a challenge in this very simple game and having a strategy was also what it was all about. But now being able to predict the outcome … wow! Is Predict-tac-toe a magic trick, is it a prediction, is it a feat of mentalism? Yes, it all of that and lots of fun.

How handy is this one, like anywhere, anytime all you need is a pen and paper and you are ready to go. Meet some new people and once they find out that you are a Magican the next comment is usually “show me a trick” and with this one you are always prepared and ready to amaze them.

Simone does a great job of explaining and teaching this effect with no gimmicks, nothing to make or prepare, just your prediction either written on paper in an envelope or using a photo as she demonstrated or use a picture on your phone. I like the photo idea as it adds a little extra dimension. This is so simple to learn, nothing sophisticated, nothing difficult to memorize. As we know, sometimes things don’t work out as planned so you will also learn some alternate ‘things’ to ensure this effects success. This purchase also comes with two .pdf attachments, one from Richard Osterlind with some further hints.

This is definitely a great buy, you will be able to start performing this within minutes and blowing away your spectators. I love this one and will certainly be one of my new go to’s.

I'll never forget the time at the restaurant where a little kid beat me 4 times at Tic Tac Toe.
If I had this back then I would have had a better outcome!

This is such a great piece of anytime mentalism.
It's not hard to remember how to finish and she even explains if something should go wrong.

You can carry the picture in your wallet or even on your phone.

Another hit from Mr. Osterlind! As usual 😎

This is a great skill to have memorized and it's not too difficult. If you can remember just a few simple steps, you can predict the outcome of a game of tic tac toe. There have been a few times where I've been asked to do magic for friends or family and I haven't had anything on me. Now I just need a pen and paper and I've got this great effect. Get this if you could use a trick you'll almost always be able to perform.

It’s a nice little bit of mentalism, but I don’t think Simone does it justice in her presentation. And her “out” for when a spec starts by putting a circle not in a corner nearly had me throw the whole concept in a corner. Luckily I spotted Richard’s addendum in the PDF and he gives you a good way of playing when this happens. Why didn’t you include that in the video, Simone?!

I think this is a good thing to have in your back pocket when you want to do an impromptu, modest effect with no preparation other than borrowed pen and paper. Not sure about adding it to a full set of routines yet -- I think it's possible that many people could backtrack the technique and realize that in Tic Tac Toe you can quickly be forced into a particular set of moves in response to a threat, and that this is what is happening in this demonstration. At the very least, though, I think it's a good amusement (rather than a miracle) and a good ice breaker. As part of a larger set of effects, I think it COULD be followed up by another, more mysterious and powerful prediction and thereby be a great lead-in for the follow up effect.

I like this effect in general, but I am not in love with it. I have written in reviews of other effects that I will often try to guess how the effect is achieved, and then I am surprised by the actual method used. That is not the case here. I immediately had a thought of how this effect was pulled off, and upon watching the instruction, it was exactly as I thought. Without giving anything away - I think the principles behind the effect are sound, and can definitely be applied in ways that (in my opinion) would be better, but the choice of tic tac toe for the routine itself cheapens an otherwise good idea. To put this in perspective, I performed this effect exactly as taught for my non-magician, elementary school teacher wife and she immediately correctly guessed how it was done even if she couldn't replicate all the beats herself. All complaints aside, I still rate this a 4, because you can take the principles and theory behind the trick and apply that to other effects.