Lights Out
Effect: The magician talks about as a kid his Dad always yelling at he and his siblings to turn off the lights when they left a room. As that appears to be a common failing among people growing up, let’s see if our helper has outgrown that bit of kid stuff.
Showing a packet of 10 cards the mentalist asks the helper for a number from 1 to 10 and deals those cards onto the table. The card for the helper is pushed forward and the rest of the cards are flipped over to show pictures of dark lightbulbs.
Finally, the card chosen by the helper is turned over to show the only lit bulb, proving that no matter how old the helper is, he still hasn’t learned to hit the light switch!
The first set of Lights Out cards I printed. Then I got fancy and laminated them!
Details:
Important Point #1: This is what's known in the magic world as a "packet trick" which means it just uses a small packet of cards. But unlike some card tricks, this one has two big things going for it:
- It doesn't use playing cards.
- It doesn't rely on hard-to-learn sleight of hand.
What that means is that it won't look like "just another card trick" to your audience, and without tough moves you'll be performing this sooner than you'd think!
Doing tricks all by yourself is better than watching paint dry, but doing it for a real person is what gets your blood pumping!
Important Point #2: Lights Out is a downloadable product. You get an 8-page PDF file that contains the method, the presentation/script, and a "Print Your Own Props" (PYOP) section.
PYOP means you can use your own printer to print the things needed for the routine. That means you get a trick ready to go without waiting for something to be shipped to you!
Lights Out is only $5 USD and you'll be able to download it immediately after paying -- no need to wait for someone to mail you a link.
We're not Neanderthals, after all!
Lights Out is a fun routine and you'll love performing it!
PS - For magic nerds, the working feels like a variant of Nick Trost's 8-Card Brainwave, and even uses the Olram Subtlety to display the cards at the end, but there's a big difference between the workings of 8CB and Lights Out.