Ok, so there is some memorization if you want this book test to be perfectly magical. However, I've
done this book using the "cheat" and have never been caught and have still blown people's minds.
What I like about this is that everyone has seen books like this and it looks absolutely
perfect. Since there are so many "generic" sudoku books out there (you can buy 10 different ones at
any book stand) there is no suspicion whatsoever (unlike, say, a TIME Magazine that is either out of
date or "doesn't look right").
I pretty much do the whole routine:
Mark picks a
puzzle at random and you divine the first number in the word list on that page.
They then
pick a word at (mostly) random and with very little (and mostly unnoticed) finagling you divine the
word.
They then pick any box on any page, add the numbers together, and pick the word on
the facing page that corresponds to the sum. You then draw a picture of the word they're thinking
of (THIS ONE KILLS EVERY TIME).
My favorite thing in this book is that it taught me how to
blow away an audience with my mathematical genius. Take 30 minutes to learn the technique without
the "cheat" (it's easy!) This is what you can then do:
Mark picks a box with two numbers
in it. They can say the numbers in any order (e.g., 39 or 93). You have them time you while you
create a "MAGIC SQUARE" in under a minute (I'm down to 30 seconds) that adds up to that number
horizontally, diagonally, vertically, and the 4 boxes in any corner AND the 4 boxes in the middle.
It freaks people out! It's not a trick, but a "feat" but a great one. Have the audience get out
their calculators and shout out the sums as they work them out.
This is the best book I've
bought in years and I'm doing it EVERY day. I want to buy a couple more so I'll always have one.
Brilliant.
Absolutely Brilliant...my favorite new book test!
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