Product description : Dominique Duvivier is one of the most famous French magician, not only for his amazing creation but laso for the myth he built with the Jerry’s Nugget. For example, he released Printing which I find to be the best packet trick I’ve ever owned ! This is one of his most famous creation : Nervous Breakdown. The idea is simple and based (I think) on Twisted Sisters by John Bannon : you show a small card holder, saying you have 4 kings on one side and a prediction on the other side. The spectator tells you any king he wants, you show that your prediction matches, it’s an ace, and that the king they named is reversed in the 4 cards packet. But not only that, the 3 other facedown cards are in fact the 3 other aces ! Of course the card holder is showed empty. Is it that clean ? Let’s find out !
Price and where to buy it : This is sold at $29 and you can find it in nearly every Murphy's magic « partner » shop !
What you get : You get a cardboard sleeve, very nicely printed with a beautiful artwork. They have done a huge work on the packaging, the first version I got was sold in a small ziplock bag. Inside, you’ll find a DVD which is a huge plus compared to the original, which was written instructions only ! The DVD is shot in Dominique’s office, unfortunately, it’s a very basic one, the explanation are done really quickly (less than 7 minutes) and can be a tad confusing at first. Fortunately, if you need to watch them a few times, you can and it will help your comprehension of the effect. You’re also provided with the plastic card holder which is ingeniously gaffed, as well as all the cards needed, with the typical Bicycle quality. The material provided is good quality, and should last for ages. For the price asked, I can’t see anyone disappointed !
THE CONS :
[if !supportLists]– [endif]Apart from the added DVD, there isn’t a single change to the routine or the props provided. I’ve got the “first” version and it’s exactly the same.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The little card holder will wear out after some time, the gold “printing” inside it will wear out. However, it won’t affect the working of the prop.
THE PROS :
[if !supportLists]– [endif]If you ever done Twisted Sister, this has the same feel but on steroids ! I like the fact that it fries laymen and magicians, not that it’s needed but it’s always cool to have something to fool your friends.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The working is really ingenious, Dominique added a layer of impossibility so that it’s completely impossible to track back.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]Everything is provided so that you can start doing this trick right out of the box.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The reset is really quick and easy ! You can do it between 2 tables.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]People can really name any king, 50% the secondary “out” won’t be as impactful as with the other 50% of the cases. However, Dominique has a really cool presentation so that this “weakest” out is turned into the best one !
[if !supportLists]– [endif]It takes up no pocket space, it’s really flat and will play really big !
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The DVD is helpful because the written instructions were not as simple to follow, the DVD really helps to understand how to manage the outs.
Overall rating : I got this one a few years ago and I’m still doing it today, it’s a very strong mentalism piece which you shouldn’t neglect, 4/4 hearts.
As for the difficulty level, it’s almost self-working, you just have to remember the correct pattern, I would say 2/5 stars.
Similar products : Twisted Sister by John Bannon is the reference in this kind of trick.