Effect
A number of Bible Characters on large cards are produced and talked about. These are all turned face down. A spectator is invited on stage. They are told in a second they will be able to touch any card they want. Now before they do, you have a prediction in an envelope. The back of the card is seen through the envelope and then the front is pulled out to show Noah and the Ark to the audience. The spectator doesn’t see as to not influence their decision. The cards are fanned and they reach out and touch one. It is turned over to show Moses. The prediction card is then pulled out and shown to have changed to Moses!
Props Needed
5 Different Character Cards, 7 of the Same Character Cards. A gimmicked envelope (We will go into that).
Method
Okay, first off the cards. For these, I print them out on 8.5 x 11 card stock of any 6 pictures you want. In this case, we use Bible characters, but we have used children’s book characters, jungle animals, etc… Then the one you want to force, print 6 extra ones. Then print an extra card of one of the random characters as well to be your fake prediction. Print card backs on these, too. A good design can be created with your logo or found online. We then laminate them, but it’s not necessary. In this example, say we use Moses, Noah, Jonah, Elijah, Adam & Eve, and David. We want to force David, so have 7 Davids printed and one of everyone else, except Noah, we will use him as our fake prediction.
Now you need two large 9×12 Manila envelopes. Cut the back off of one by cutting down the side. Then cut a huge square in the front of the other so you can see the
contents. Slide the back from the other envelope inside the 2nd one with the square in it. This should look like an empty envelope from the front. You now have an envelope with a hidden pocket in the back. Put your fake prediction card, (in this example Noah) in the back compartment of the envelope. Then put your real prediction, (in this example David) in the front, so the back you see is the one of the real prediction.
Now your remaining 11 cards, 5 different and 6 the same, are arranged like this. Face up from the top down, your force card, then all 5 different cards, then reversed under them are the other 5 identical cards. In our example it would be the David, then five random cards, then five more Davids upside down with their backs up.
Show these cards to the audience, holding them chest level being careful not to show that the bottom cards are reversed. Show each character, talk about it, reverse it, and put it on the bottom of the pack. Eventually you will come to a face down card and it will appear as if you have showed the audience all of the cards. When you do this with all the cards, your order will be all cards face down with 6 of the same cards on top and 5 different ones on bottom.
Invite a spectator on stage and tell them they are going to touch a card, but first you want to show the audience the prediction. Place the cards down and pick up the envelope or have an assistant do this for you.
When you bring out the prediction, the audience can see the card in the envelope through the window. However, as you slide the card out to show them, the envelope is reversed so they can no longer see the card. Slide out the false prediction, in this case Noah, and show the audience, then put it back in. Turn the envelope back over and place it on the table. This looks natural as the back is showing and you have to turn it around anyway.
Ask the spectator to hold out a finger, and then fan the cards so that only the top 5 cards are fanned out and the remaining 6 are held as one at the bottom of the pack. She will touch one of the force cards. It’s important not to say, “pick a card”, but only, “touch one”. This prevents them from wanting to riffle through them.
When you see there card, look perplexed. Then pull your card out of the envelope with the hole facing out so they can see the card coming out. Show that they now match! A great effect!
Afterthoughts
I kept this routine vague as I want you to come up with your own patter and characters to use. This one is really as good as you make it! Steve Varro had a fantastic idea I would love to share. Instead of making a gimmick envelope, you can attach the false back that usually sits freely in the envelope to the card that should be hidden in the back. This way is great as well!
By Joey & Alexandra Evans www.Evansmagic.com
This article originally appeared in The Voice of FCM, vol. 56 num. 2.
Members of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians have access an online library containing over 50 years of FCM magazines filled with articles on sharing the Gospel using magic and other visual arts.
