Price$72.50
Media TypeTrick
CategoryMentalism
Date AddedNov 25, 2014
David Penn's Mystery Solved
Penn, David
World Magic Shop
(Based on 3 reviews)
The World's leading magicians, creators and historians have heralded David Penn's Mystery Solved as "The Holy Grail".
In any lighting conditions, close-up, walk around, parlour or stage you will be able to perform the cleanest and clearest switch ever!!!!! A killer ending for card to impossible location The perfect solution to the dream card plot The most direct and fair Confabulation routine you have ever seen.Mystery Solved has been perfectly engineered and custom made from the ground up, to provide you with a method that you will enjoy using again and again and yet your spectators will never see a thing!
As Marc Oberon Said - "When I saw Mystery Solved I couldn't believe a switch was occurring".
Utilise Mystery Solved as your finale, in the cleanest and clearest card to box ever, or to reveal a prediction.
A signed card vanishes from the deck only to be discovered in the clear box that has been isolated under a wine glass the entire time!
In a mentalism routine your audience can see you place the prediction inside an empty box. After asking for random information from your audience members, the prediction can be tipped out at fingertips, before being read out loud by a spectator. The card is tipped out at fingertips making the retention of vision incredibly strong and deceptive. The box is only half the size of a deck of cards! The box is instantly empty and clear! The contents can be changed/customized in three minutes! You can place objects in the box and clearly tip them out! As well as the thinking behind Mystery Solved, the accompanying DVD which was shot on location within London's Shard, provides a wealth of information including David's card routine guest star - Peter Turner describes devious ways to use Mystery Solved in mentalism routines.
Here is what some of the world leading performers, creators and Magical thinkers are saying about David Penn's Mystery Solved:
"The next big thing is HERE!"
- Eric Jones
"That is ***king Incredible! One of the best things I have seen in ten years! I'll use this"
- Peter Turner - The Perceptionist
"David Penn has created the HOLY GRAIL of Card To BOX"
- @PeterEggink
"What The **CK!"
- @trollcarl (Tom Stone)
"Holy Moly! That has to be real magic. There is no other explanation"
- Jonathan Levit
"That is Beautiful"
- @benhanlin
"I can't believe I just spent two grand on a prediction chest and this is so much better!"
- @ali_cook
"This is an incredible invention and the perfect tool for working magicians"
- Sabastien Calbry
"CLEARLY the best device for an impossible location effect!"
- @jeffprace
"That is an absolute miracle!"
- Brian Kennedy
"David has created a box of such transparent scrupulous veracity, so honest yet so brazenly pathological. This box should not be able to switch anything for anything else, yet it does so without a shadow of guilt!"
- @MaxSomerset
"I need that now!"
- Wayne Fox
"That is just perfect"
- @MathewYoungs
"Mystery Solved is so ****ING sweet!"
- Bobby Motta
"When I saw Mystery Solved I couldn't believe a switch was occurring"
- Marc Oberon
"No more wooden boxes, mint boxes, jewelry boxes or candy boxes. The Holy Grail has been found!"
- Chris Kavanagh
"That is just GENIUS!"
- Rus Andrews
"This is the best effect I have every created, Including Coinvexed. I am proud to introduce it to the magic community"
- @DavidPennMagic
******** TV Rights and all Video For Profit Rights are reserved by David Penn. Please contact the creator if you wish to use this effect for such a purpose *********
Reviews
(Top ▲)
PROS
There are many versions of this sort of prop. Some are smaller and some are larger. This prop is really made well and every detail has been thought out.
The instruction on the DVD is very good, and very good routines are taught.
He teaches how to handle the prop in such a way that the illusion is perfect from beginning to end.
Due to the size, the box is very well suited to close-up, parlor, or stage work.
CONS
Again, there are many versions of this sort of prop. This begs the questions:
1. Do we really need another prediction type box?
2. Is this one better or worse?
When it comes to see through boxes, there are several different ones on the magic market. Some are larger and some are smaller.
For the functionality, ease of use, and ease of maintenance, this is possibly the best box because of it’s size and the way it works.
There are some angles to beware of, but because of the angle of the card in the box, in most circumstances, you can perform this completely surrounded.
You cannot hand out the box for examination, but depending upon how bold you are, you could set the box down on the table briefly, before putting it away.
VERDICT
This is an excellent prop, it will last a very long time, it is very well made, the instruction is very good, and the routines demonstrated and explained are excellent.
There are many versions of this sort of prop. Some are smaller and some are larger. This prop is really made well and every detail has been thought out.
The instruction on the DVD is very good, and very good routines are taught.
He teaches how to handle the prop in such a way that the illusion is perfect from beginning to end.
Due to the size, the box is very well suited to close-up, parlor, or stage work.
CONS
Again, there are many versions of this sort of prop. This begs the questions:
1. Do we really need another prediction type box?
2. Is this one better or worse?
When it comes to see through boxes, there are several different ones on the magic market. Some are larger and some are smaller.
For the functionality, ease of use, and ease of maintenance, this is possibly the best box because of it’s size and the way it works.
There are some angles to beware of, but because of the angle of the card in the box, in most circumstances, you can perform this completely surrounded.
You cannot hand out the box for examination, but depending upon how bold you are, you could set the box down on the table briefly, before putting it away.
VERDICT
This is an excellent prop, it will last a very long time, it is very well made, the instruction is very good, and the routines demonstrated and explained are excellent.
(Top ▲)
Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Little Queen of Spades by Robert Johnson
Mystery Solved by David Penn Reviewed
One clear box, 4 gimmicks, 1 DVD and $72 bucks. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.
Effect
Many effects are possible, but the standard foundation is the card to impossible location plot. A clear box on display from the beginning of a routine has a folded card inside of it. A card is selected and signed. The card vanishes from the deck. The card in the clear box is dumped out and unfolded. It is the selected card.
Method
You're getting, as the ad copy openly states, a switching device. The concept is that you have a card, dollar bill, "billet," etc. inside of a clear box. Then when you dump it out into your hand, you've actually switched it for a different card, bill, etc.
The box you're getting is customizable so that it can be used for various objects. However, the box must be dedicated to only one object (bill OR card OR billet, etc.). You can take the box back to your case and modify the gimmick to do bills instead of cards in about 3 minutes if you've done some one-time prep work in advance.
If you're strolling from table to table or group to group, you'll have to decide in advance what type of object you'll be switching out and stick to that for the night . . . or at least until you can take a trip to your case and swap out the gimmick.
Creating the gimmick is super easy and is a one-time effort. However, if you're going to use it for more than one thing, you'll need to make multiple gimmicks that can be swapped in and out of the box depending on what you're switching (card, bill, etc.).
Once the gimmick is place in the box, the operation of it is nearly self-working. It works very well, and the box really does appear empty. The only concern I have about the gimmick/method is that the gimmick for switching out a folded card is nearly twice the size of the actual card that you're switching in. So I'm not sure how convincing the illusion is with card gimmick being so much larger than what you end up handing out to the spectator. However, I think for switching dollar bills and billets, there will be no issues whatsoever.
The rest of the method depends on what effect you're doing. If you're doing card to impossible location, you may (depending on the handling) need to learn the Mercury Card Fold, which is taught on the DVD.
Overall, this gimmick is very easy to customize and use. There just may be some issues when performing card effects with it.
Ad Copy Integrity
The ad copy is accurate. In the ad copy you'll find several "testimonials" and endorsements from other magicians. Those statements are not considered ad copy in my book. They are simply endorsements to be taken as opinions of other magicians and nothing else.
Product Quality
The DVD is well shot, well lit, well mic'd, etc. It's easy to navigate as well. The gimmick itself is well made, solid and a clever concept. A fair amount of thought and design went into the box and the concept. The only problem with it is the above mentioned issue with the size of the card gimmick.
The teaching quality was decent, but a bit scattered and hard to follow in some places. The way the gimmick is designed, you can switch an item by apparently removing it from the box or apparently placing it in the box. There were plenty of handling tips on how to "remove" the item, but none on how to "insert" the item.
The teaching of David Penn's routine was pretty in depth and covered everything. However, the section with Peter Turner was a bit "messy." There are some excellent applications for mentalism, but they were very poorly explained. Some of them were so confusing that I was totally lost. Much of it relied on the viewer being familiar with Orville Meyer's classic effect, Tervil. If you're not familiar with that, you'll be lost a lot during the Peter Turner section of the DVD.
I've read the effect before and remember the basics of it, and I was still confused at this section of the DVD. Pretty much everything in this section was just talked through and very hard to follow. There were a few moments where some of the ideas clearer than others, but all in all, this section was very hard to watch and follow. Having said that, however, I think most mentalists will see the potential for this type of switching device — I certainly did — regardless of how confusingly taught Peter Turner's ideas were.
Final Thoughts
If you already have one of the other marketing switching boxes, the question you have to ask yourself is "how important is it that the switching box is clear and appears to be empty after the switch?" If that's important to you, then you'll likely be happy with this product. If you're not currently using a switching device and are considering one, this is a good choice, but you need to be very aware of the warning regarding the card gimmick mentioned earlier.
Final Verdict:
4 Stars with a Stone Status of Gem
(Top ▲)
David Penn’s Mystery Solved is and superb product and a notable step in the evolution of the signed card-to-box routine. The product’s name, Mystery Solved, pays homage to John Kennedy’s Mystery Box, a small wooden box that for years was the card-to-box standard. The mystery that was solved was how to transform the opaque box into a completely transparent one. This is indeed one of the answers to that question.
Penn credits several magicians, including the card-to-box routine creator, Bruno Henning and more recently, David Regal, for his amazing contribution, the also mostly see-through, Clarity Box, which uses a different gimmick.
With Mystery Solved you get a clear box, a few pieces of material which allow you to create different customized gimmicks necessary to perform the illusion and an excellently produced one hour and twenty minute DVD. The box itself, which is completely see through, measures 2¼ inches wide, 1 1/3 inches tall and 1½ inches deep. The gimmick requires some simple art-and-crafts work which may take up to 20 minutes to create and install. It is possible to create and affix the gimmick within 5-10 minutes, but I was not satisfied with my first attempt and worked on it until it was perfect. You will need a scissor (or razor) and double stick tape and you will be ready to go. You can customize your gimmick to be red card, a blue card, a billet, a dollar bill, etc. The DVD is very detailed and contains a studio performance, a live performance and most importantly, a clear step-by-step real-time demonstration on how to create and install the gimmick. The packaging is an attractive black box with form fitting foam that you can use as protection during transport.
Penn shot the DVD in London’s Shard, the tallest building in the EU. The Shard is a glass skyscraper which is symbolic of the see-through nature of Mystery Solved. Penn presents the product very well and in addition to the construction and history of the illusion, he displayed his hand made prototype, the method in which it is currently manufactured (sonic welding --- don’t ask me?!), and he explains how to handle and display the box with the correct orientation in relation to your audience so that the method is not revealed.
It is important to note that this illusion not only has angle considerations, but when the card is poured out of the box, the box must be held in a certain way to avoid detection. The box cannot, absolutely cannot, be handed out to spectators after the card is removed from the box. After the card is produced, within a few seconds, the box is put away in a pocket, to avoid exposure of the gimmick. Although this may weigh on your mind before trying out this trick, the heat is focused on the Mercury folded signed card and not the box. Of course it would be great to be keep the box in plain sight after the illusion is performed, but the method is so convincing that this concern is almost completely irrelevant. In fact, I watched Penn’s demonstration of the production of the card from the box so many times and I swear that the card in Penn’s hand was the same card that was in the box. It is so fair looking that it should not be questioned.
Penn teaches various slights and moves, among them, the essential Mercury Fold, and also a few routines to perform with Mystery Solved. Penn cleverly demonstrates how to do the Mercury Fold with an Omni Deck, which makes it very easy to follow, for beginners. He suggested that a spectator may hold the box during the trick, before the card is removed from the box, but many performers may not feel comfortable allowing spectator hands on the box due to the angles issues and the unpredictability of even the most obedient and seemingly compliant spectators.
The DVD contains a lengthy interview with Mentalist, Peter Turner, who presents some great ideas for using Mystery Solved in a mentalism routine, although the suggested routines are not performed by Turner.
This product is great for any close-up or walk-around set because it can be repeated over and over and has a split-second reset. The price is very fair and the promotional video shows what you get. The numerous endorsements I believe accurately reflect several magician’s reaction to the product, but calling it the Holy Grail is a bit over the top. This is a wonderful product that will astonish and fool.
Penn credits several magicians, including the card-to-box routine creator, Bruno Henning and more recently, David Regal, for his amazing contribution, the also mostly see-through, Clarity Box, which uses a different gimmick.
With Mystery Solved you get a clear box, a few pieces of material which allow you to create different customized gimmicks necessary to perform the illusion and an excellently produced one hour and twenty minute DVD. The box itself, which is completely see through, measures 2¼ inches wide, 1 1/3 inches tall and 1½ inches deep. The gimmick requires some simple art-and-crafts work which may take up to 20 minutes to create and install. It is possible to create and affix the gimmick within 5-10 minutes, but I was not satisfied with my first attempt and worked on it until it was perfect. You will need a scissor (or razor) and double stick tape and you will be ready to go. You can customize your gimmick to be red card, a blue card, a billet, a dollar bill, etc. The DVD is very detailed and contains a studio performance, a live performance and most importantly, a clear step-by-step real-time demonstration on how to create and install the gimmick. The packaging is an attractive black box with form fitting foam that you can use as protection during transport.
Penn shot the DVD in London’s Shard, the tallest building in the EU. The Shard is a glass skyscraper which is symbolic of the see-through nature of Mystery Solved. Penn presents the product very well and in addition to the construction and history of the illusion, he displayed his hand made prototype, the method in which it is currently manufactured (sonic welding --- don’t ask me?!), and he explains how to handle and display the box with the correct orientation in relation to your audience so that the method is not revealed.
It is important to note that this illusion not only has angle considerations, but when the card is poured out of the box, the box must be held in a certain way to avoid detection. The box cannot, absolutely cannot, be handed out to spectators after the card is removed from the box. After the card is produced, within a few seconds, the box is put away in a pocket, to avoid exposure of the gimmick. Although this may weigh on your mind before trying out this trick, the heat is focused on the Mercury folded signed card and not the box. Of course it would be great to be keep the box in plain sight after the illusion is performed, but the method is so convincing that this concern is almost completely irrelevant. In fact, I watched Penn’s demonstration of the production of the card from the box so many times and I swear that the card in Penn’s hand was the same card that was in the box. It is so fair looking that it should not be questioned.
Penn teaches various slights and moves, among them, the essential Mercury Fold, and also a few routines to perform with Mystery Solved. Penn cleverly demonstrates how to do the Mercury Fold with an Omni Deck, which makes it very easy to follow, for beginners. He suggested that a spectator may hold the box during the trick, before the card is removed from the box, but many performers may not feel comfortable allowing spectator hands on the box due to the angles issues and the unpredictability of even the most obedient and seemingly compliant spectators.
The DVD contains a lengthy interview with Mentalist, Peter Turner, who presents some great ideas for using Mystery Solved in a mentalism routine, although the suggested routines are not performed by Turner.
This product is great for any close-up or walk-around set because it can be repeated over and over and has a split-second reset. The price is very fair and the promotional video shows what you get. The numerous endorsements I believe accurately reflect several magician’s reaction to the product, but calling it the Holy Grail is a bit over the top. This is a wonderful product that will astonish and fool.