Magic Tricks

Ok, so I'm going to review this from two different angles: as a spectator and as a magician. The reason is that I'm on the fence on this... but to be fair, I want to give you the full picture of what I think of this trick and why.

*** Hello there... I'm a spectator. ************************
Whoah!!! WHAT THE HECK!!! How did -? How did -?

*KABOOM!* (Brain splatters on the wall. No one wants coffee anymore.)

That's the reaction you'll get with this trick... SOMETIMES. It depends. Even Greg talks about a spectator who figured it out the day before filming the explanation. If you have exceptionally bright spectators, they might figure this one out. But there are some little actions that the guys suggest that mitigate that as convincers. I say personally that you DEFINITELY want to use those convincers.

I think that the reactions you'll see will be similar to the trailer. The younger crowd might be like the spectator who exploded his gray matter all over the barista behind the counter. But I think that the more mature crowd will be impressed, as in "Huh. That's cool!"

So do I recommend this trick? Would I as a spectator think this is the bomb and not a bomb? I think so. It's hard to know for sure because I am trying to think of this from a spectator's side, but I've already been tainted to a point as a magician. But yeah, I think this is a decent trick. I would definitely use this as a casual opener. Whether or not they know you're a magician, I think you should start this first... because it's cool or mind-blowing depending on your audience. But hopefully, you'll have a little something heavier to follow up with. If not, this is a great little surprise one-trick act. Consider it like a drive-by magicing. ;-)

So, judging the trick itself from a spectator's viewpoint, I think this would be a 4 out of 5. It's pretty good. This isn't Little Door (Roddy McGhie) visual, but it does seem like pretty solid magic to a spectator.

*** Hello there... I'm a magician. ************************
Ok, now as a magician, I think I need to be a little more critical. Yes, it's still a decent trick. However, when I saw the trick, this is definitely NOT a fooler for magicians. Of course, we are not trying to fool magicians, but spectators. But, let's just say that if you saw the trailer and and think you knew immediately how he did it like I did, you are probably right. Should you buy it if that's the case? Not really... but he does give some good tips on a switch you can use.

The explanation video - it was typical Greg Wilson... he (and David) taught the trick well. Greg is always easy to listen to. He has a great personality and sense of humor, so you won't fall asleep like some other magicians. The video is sufficient in length for the trick. I didn't feel like they were just trying to kill time. So props on that too. If you have no idea how this trick works, definitely get it.

Is it easy to perform? Yes.
Are there any difficult moves? No. There is only one move tops... and you can decide how you want to do it. Anyone should be able to do this trick. This is a good trick to focus your showman performance skills on.

Arts & Crafts? Kinda. Very minor. You don't need any special tools... You can do this at the prep bar of the coffeehouse you're in or ahead of time. Super easy... I'm hesitant to really call it arts & crafts. More like a little prep work. But super minor... not an issue at all. It should take you all of 30 seconds to prep this one.

Explainer Video - Good job, as I said, on teaching. This obviously was a casual video though... not scripted. Just two guys talking about this little trick and how they do it. If you're used to expecting heavy duty production value, you won't get it here. It does the job... to me, that's what matters.

Is it worth the price? No. It's a good trick. But it's a $4.95 trick in my opinion. Basically, if you are familiar with all the various tricks that are sold individually from the Coffee Conjuring series, this is just like one of those. (In fact, the very good trick Coffee Break by Greg is currently FREE. Check it out! If you like this kind of thing, I definitely recommend getting Coffee Conjuring.) Do I feel ripped off or cheated? No. It's still a good trick... I just think it's a little overpriced.

Is this a trick I'll perform? Yes... not all the time, but in the right setting (coffee shop, duh.) and with the right audience. This is a trick you can get called out on if you're with a jerk face monkey fart critic. But if you're with people who are chill and love to laugh and relax (you know... coffee house types), yes definitely, I'll perform this.

As a magician, I'd say this is a 3 out of 5 star trick. I like it and it's good... but it's not spectacular (it potentially could be if you are a master showman of course... but I think for the average magician, it's a fine trick). That's not bad. I only give 5 stars when it's crazy mind-melting visual or make you think that the magician is really from another dimension. 4 stars is pretty much a perfect score for any lesser trick. Thus, 3 stars is still a positive number in my book and more above average than it sounds. So please don't hate me, Greg and Dave. I'm still a big fan!

Overall, considering both sides of the magic review fence (spectator vs magician), I think I'll give this trick 3.5 stars overall. If you can't figure out how this works or if you're new to magic, get this (knowing it's a tad pricey). Advanced magicians will want to steer clear unless they just want to see Greg teach this (which I literally do feel that way in general) or pick up little performance points. Even though I knew right away how to do this, I still picked up little points to make this more convincing and mitigate any prying eyes.

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.