Price$20.00
Media TypeTrick
CategoryChildrens
Date AddedMay 16, 2010
The Buddy System for Water Safety
Guderjahn, Ernie
Theater-16, Inc.
(Based on 1 review)
Two identical packets of custom jumbo (5 3/8” x 8 3/8”) cards with different pictures of swimmers are shown to your audience. The packets magically reassemble in pairs while the kids keep repeating (and spelling) the magic phrase “Swim, But Never Alone”.
This is based on an old card spelling effect, and the method is not new, but it works, entertains, has lots of direct audience participation, and gets an important message across.
The effect is completely self working and resets itself. It also “packs flat, and plays big”!!
Comes with necessary cards, detailed instructions, and sample patter.
Reviews
(Top ▲)
I was asked to review this for my friend and local magic shop owner, Barry Schor. It's not the kind of thing I would normally review and I told Barry that I obviously couldn't guarantee a good review. Since this sort of thing is so far out of my areas of interest, I'll do my best to be in the mindset of my youth, when I was performing primarily for children.
I began by watching the YouTube Video. In it, the creator gives a brief introduction, followed by a performance, including explanation of the "secret move." He makes it very clear that he hasn't invented the method, only applied a "safety magic" framework to it. The script is interesting and well thought out.
The effect is a simple card matching. You show two duplicate sets of five specially-printed cards showing kids playing in or around water. The cards start out in the same order (as "Buddies"). One packet is mixed. The cards are then magically turned back into Buddies (pairs) by spelling the magic phrase, "Swim but never alone." Simple.
I like it. It's got a good message that's repeated several times throughout the routine. The trick matches the script. The words match the actions. The cards are well-made and should last a long time (though laminating wouldn't be a bad idea around kids with grubby fingers). The entire script is included with the product.
My only problem was that the written instructions were lacking the polish of the cards. Instead of just providing the instructions as standard letter-sized printouts, he has created small booklet-type pages by using a clever cutting-and-folding technique. The printing was a bit off and the strange folding technique made it difficult to figure out where to start reading. The YouTube video helped a lot, but that came to me via email from Barry and the URL isn't included in the instruction sheets. Maybe the author will add it in future versions.
If you're doing kids shows and want to throw in a safety message, I would highly recommend this trick.
I began by watching the YouTube Video. In it, the creator gives a brief introduction, followed by a performance, including explanation of the "secret move." He makes it very clear that he hasn't invented the method, only applied a "safety magic" framework to it. The script is interesting and well thought out.
The effect is a simple card matching. You show two duplicate sets of five specially-printed cards showing kids playing in or around water. The cards start out in the same order (as "Buddies"). One packet is mixed. The cards are then magically turned back into Buddies (pairs) by spelling the magic phrase, "Swim but never alone." Simple.
I like it. It's got a good message that's repeated several times throughout the routine. The trick matches the script. The words match the actions. The cards are well-made and should last a long time (though laminating wouldn't be a bad idea around kids with grubby fingers). The entire script is included with the product.
My only problem was that the written instructions were lacking the polish of the cards. Instead of just providing the instructions as standard letter-sized printouts, he has created small booklet-type pages by using a clever cutting-and-folding technique. The printing was a bit off and the strange folding technique made it difficult to figure out where to start reading. The YouTube video helped a lot, but that came to me via email from Barry and the URL isn't included in the instruction sheets. Maybe the author will add it in future versions.
If you're doing kids shows and want to throw in a safety message, I would highly recommend this trick.