Product description : The card to box is a plot which has fascinated magicians for years, from the classical effect designed in the second half of the XXth century. One of the most magical version is the one from Tommy Wonder in my opinion. Here is another take by Takel (understand the joke ?), more organic, with a matchbox. The routine is simple, card is selected and signed, you can do the routine you want with it and at the end, you point out to a matchbox which has been on the table since the beginning, open it and show a folded card inside, take it out and show it’s the signed card ! So is it worth having it ? Let’s find out !
Price and where to buy it : This is sold at $24.95 and you can find it in nearly every Murphy's magic « partner » shop !
What you get : You get a small cardboard box, it’s really really well made, Murphys really takes care of the packaging and when you receive it, you don’t feel ripped off, that’s really a good idea. Inside, in some foam, you find the matchbox as well as a link for the explanation video. The video is well made, as usual with Murphys, it looks professional and you learn everything you need. The matchbox is well made, everything is ready to go out of the box ! You also get a little bit of material extra in order to repair the gimmick if it breaks. Overall, I’m pretty happy with it even if I have concerns about the gimmick which I will explain in the cons later in the review.
The pros and the cons : Here is the core of my review, let's begin with the cons, as I will usually be doing, I prefer to keep the good things for the end.
THE CONS :
[if !supportLists]– [endif]I have a problem with the gimmick, the same I had with the Kennedy box, it’s a 2D gimmick so the illusion of a folded card isn’t the best.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]There is a little bit of noise when you activate the gimmick.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The box isn’t examinable, it’s heavily gimmicked so you won’t be able to hand it out (which is sad because it’s such an organic prop, you should be able to give it without any problem).
THE PROS :
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The box is and looks organic so people would be less likely to find it gimmicked than a regular wooden card to box.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The reset is pretty quick, since the box can’t be handed out, they’ve included a fast and “ingenious’ way of resetting the box.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The gimmick looks and feels sturdy, you shouldn’t worry about it breaking.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The box is quite small to be carry around, just make sure you won’t sit on it since it’s a regular matchbox made out of cardboard.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The packaging is really well made, I point this out as a real pro because for a $25 trick, you get a really nice box, and they took care of everything.
[if !supportLists]– [endif]The retention of vision is quite interesting, not the best I’ve seen but still cool.
Overall rating : I really didn’t like this as much as other card to box gimmick, I find it not deceptive enough and you can’t hand the box out, you can’t switch the gimmick for a bill one for example, there are better options out there, 2/4 hearts.
As for the difficulty level, a mercury card fold is needed but the activation of the gimmick is quite simple, so I would say 3/5 stars.
Similar products : There is a lot of card to box effect out there, mine which is the Revolution Box, is a transparent and examinable box. The Kennedy box is one of the most known among magician.