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Tony V New user 12 Posts |
It has been a long time since I last posted anything here
in the Café. I have been lurking and keeping up with some of the threads. I believe that one of my last posts was a review of the DVD by Lew Brooks called "Stack Attack". Lew just sent me a copy of his latest work to be published shortly and I want to be the first to comment on it. His latest product will be a video and PDF combination and will be available from various online magic sites that provide for downloadable media. The package is entitled "The Knight's Tour Revisited". I do not know the retail cost of this item but am told it will be less than $20. Lew has collaborated with Steven Keyl on this project. I do not personally know Mr. Keyl but I see that he is a frequent poster here on the Café. I am told that Mr. Keyl lives in the Wash. D.C. area as does Lew Brooks since moving from Las Vegas. By way of full disclosure, I am a friend of Lew's and when he lived here in Las Vegas we would get together frequently. Lew moved to Virginia in 2013 and although we still communicate via email we have not been face-to-face since then. "The Knight's Tour Revisited" is an effect that combines two apparently difficult procedures in their own areas into one amazing demonstration of extreme concentration and memorization. Most of us are familiar with the standard knight's tour on a chessboard and there has been quite a lot posted here in the Café about this idea. Another common idea among magicians is some form of rapid deck or card memorization. Lew's idea is to combine the two areas and perform a knight's tour using a grid or layout of face-up playing cards instead of the usual squares of a chessboard. From a shuffled deck of cards a grid of 36 cards (6x6) or 25 cards (5x5) is laid out on a table. The performer then states that while he was laying out the cards he was also memorizing their location in the grid and that not only will he perform the famous knight's tour but do so while blindfolded or with his back turned to the layout. As difficult as this sounds, this procedure is well within the reach of almost anyone with very little memory work. Most of the hard work has been done by Lew and once you learn the secret you can perform this amazing effect with very little effort. Almost the whole thing is 'performance'. With the proper presentation and showmanship you will have an effect that can make your reputation. For your $$$ you will receive a 35 minute video and a set of written instructions in PDF format. The video is narrated for the most part by Mr. Keyl in the company of Lew Brooks. The written instructions are authored by Lew. Everything that you need to know is taught in the video and the written instructions go into more detail and include some fine points and afterthoughts. If you have ever wanted to include some form of memory stunt in your program then this will fill the bill. Easy to perform and should leave a lasting impression. |
Demitri Loyal user 296 Posts |
Without asking for too much detail on the presentation side, is there a logical explanation in the routine, that explains the use of a chess piece with cards, in this fashion? As interesting as it sounds, I'm a little unsure of how the two would come together.
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Tony V New user 12 Posts |
The effect is being performed as a double impact memory and
concentration demonstration. (1)The performer must know or calculate his way around the grid in order to accomplish a successful knight's tour and (2)by using face-up playing cards from a shuffled deck, the performer must have memorized the lay-out or arrangement of the 36 cards while dealing them onto the table. Both alone would be impressive enough but when combined you should have an effect that ranks with the best. This is not a 'magic' trick. It is for those who sometimes dabble in the area of 'memory stunts' (pseudo or otherwise). |
Demitri Loyal user 296 Posts |
I didn't think of it as a magic trick - my question was just whether there was a presentational reason for bringing cards and chess together in this routine. I get that the demonstration sounds great, I was just wondering how the whole thing might be presented.
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mastermindreader 1949 - 2017 Seattle, WA 12586 Posts |
Apart from the cards, the main problem I see is that a chess board has 64 squares.
Also note that in 2003 I released my own "Mind Explosions," which describes a routine in which The Knights Tour and the classic "Memory Magic Square" are combined, so the concept of doing the "tour" and a memory demonstration at the same time is not new. http://www.lybrary.com/mind-explosions-p-784.html |
Steven Keyl Inner circle Washington, D.C. 2630 Posts |
Tony, thanks for the review! This is now available and can be found here:
http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/7167 Demitri, the demo at the link above explains the premise and concept of combining the two effects. If you watch that and still have any questions, I'd be glad to answer them. Bob, thanks for the information. It was our belief that combining the Knight's Tour and a memory demonstration was something that hadn't been done before. *** you, man! (stupid auto censor!) I'll post an addendum to the description in the next day or so. As far the difference in squares, it is addressed in the demo and at length in the explanation video. In the times I've performed this I've found fewer squares to be a huge plus. A full 64 square knight's tour can be very long for people to follow and in my experience, the point of diminishing returns is reached well before you get to the end of the full tour. We offer a 6x6 and 5x5 option (the 6x6 is the one in the demo), and the length just feels right to me. I'd like to ask you about your routine. If you see this and have a moment, shoot me a PM. Thanks.
Steven Keyl - The Human Whisperer!
B2B Magazine Test! Best impromptu progressive Ace Assembly ever! "If you ever find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause, and reflect." --Mark Twain |
mastermindreader 1949 - 2017 Seattle, WA 12586 Posts |
Ricky Jay has combined the two as well (and sings a song while he's doing it!)
"Mind Explosions" explains how to perform both effects without much effort but doesn't explicitly suggest that you perform them at the same time. Shortly after publication, when I was putting a teleseminar together with Michael Weber. I told him how I had combined the two in my own show and thought it would be a good thing to include as a bonus. He told me not to do it because Ricky was doing it in his New York show, which I was unaware of. So Ricky was actually the first. |
Steven Keyl Inner circle Washington, D.C. 2630 Posts |
Understood. Thanks for the clarification.
Steven Keyl - The Human Whisperer!
B2B Magazine Test! Best impromptu progressive Ace Assembly ever! "If you ever find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause, and reflect." --Mark Twain |
newguy Elite user 411 Posts |
Already in print, already been done
5 x5 and 6 x 6 This is not new |
newguy Elite user 411 Posts |
In fact, you can find Bob's version (which is EXACTLY what is being sold on Penguin seven years after Bob published it in 2009)
Look at page 5 of the Bonus Materials of Bob's Artful Mentalism Teleseminar. It is using a deck of cards in Nicola to do a 5 x 5 chess knights tour with "false" memory and 25 or 36 cards laid-out face up on the table. It is all there, charts, presentation, variant patterns, everything. It is titled "The Modern Knight's Tour" and in the call, Bob mentions Webber came up with the 6 x 6 recursive tour which solves all the problems. Go read it, there is a ton of great mentalism in those teleseminars! |
mastermindreader 1949 - 2017 Seattle, WA 12586 Posts |
I totally forgot about that! Like the old saying goes, "Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most."
Speaking of losing things, I apparently also lost those notes when my computer crashed last year. If possible, could you please send me a copy (just the notes you referred to in your post) so that I can see exactly what I wrote? It's okay, you have my permission to send me a copy of my own notes. My email is bobcassidy@rocketmail.com Thanks, Bob |
Steven Keyl Inner circle Washington, D.C. 2630 Posts |
Bob, if you get a copy, please shoot me a PM so we can discuss. Thanks.
Steven Keyl - The Human Whisperer!
B2B Magazine Test! Best impromptu progressive Ace Assembly ever! "If you ever find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause, and reflect." --Mark Twain |
mastermindreader 1949 - 2017 Seattle, WA 12586 Posts |
Will do.
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MaxfieldsMagic Inner circle Instead of practicing, I made 3009 Posts |
I've seen Steven and Lew do this live, and it's a killer. If there's a precedent put out by Bob Cassidy (which I don't have), this must be just one of those examples of independent creation. The video and pdf download at Penguin are very well done and thorough.
Now appearing nightly in my basement.
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