Product description : The French Twins do like cards to impossible location, whether it’s in a condom, a tea bag, or in a wallet, they’re like the specialists ! So it’s a natural evolution to have the card found in another “organic” object : a cigarette. The idea behind the trick is quite simple, you let someone pick a card, they can sign it on one side and you tear it in half. You make the first half vanish, pick a cigarette from a borrowed pack (or just take it out from your personal pack), lit it, smoke a little bit and show that there is no tobacco inside but a rolled up playing card. It’s the half of the signed card ! Is this any good or new ? Let’s find out !
Price and where to buy it : This is sold at $29.95 and you can find it in nearly every Murphy's magic « partner » shop !
What you get : You get a rectangular cardboard box, really nicely made, the packaging is simple and elegant. Inside, you’ll find the metal cigarette holder which is shown in the trailer, that is a nice attention from the French twins, so you can carry your cigarettes very easily without damaging them. Inside, you’ll get the little card with a link in order to watch the explanation video. I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the video, the trailer is amazingly well shot but the explanation video is shot with a smartphone in their kitchen, so the quality can’t be compared with the trailer. The teaching is good, you get the main routine but also ways to switch cigarettes, to introduce them and also how to vanish the torn up half in a very visual way (you may have to purchase additional items for this vanish). And also, you get 20 prepared cigarettes with cards in them, you get 4 different kinds, with 4 different cards inside. On top of the rolled up cigarette, you have brown paper (no tobacco is used) so it looks like a real cigarette. Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with the product if you consider this more as “refill” than a trick, because this trick isn’t new at all.
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]As I said, this isn’t new, the trick has been around for ages and I consider Cigarettes to be a refill for the trick more than a trick in itself.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]If you like the visual vanish of the trailer, keep in mind you’ll have to buy additional stuff, and have some clothing requirements.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]In those days, smoking isn’t allowed in many places so you have to know where you want to do this.
THE PROS :
[if !supportLists]· [endif]I really like the fact they took the time to explain a lot of subtleties in the video, such as switching in and out the cigarette, smoking a bit of it to make it more real, they have worked this and you can feel it.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]The cigarettes are really well made, they unroll very nicely so the visual when you are revealing the card is amazing.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]You can have the card signed, even if the half will not perfectly match the tear, the fact it is burnt will erase any evidence of this. And in the mind of the spectator, it is the half you just vanished.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]You don’t only get 1 kind of card inside the cigarette, you get 4 of them so you can do this trick multiple times without having the same card picked each time.
[if !supportLists]· [endif]I like having this kind of item on me, it allows to do a powerful and unexpected revelation and to be ready every time someone is asking you to do a trick.
Overall rating : I like this, you get specially prepared cigarettes, they’re well made and work as a dream ! I may carry one or two on me in order to be able to do the trick ! 3/4 hearts.
As for the difficulty level, you have to know how to force a card, nothing complicated, I would say 2/5 stars.
Similar products : The card in cigarette is not new, this is something which has been around for ages, I can’t remember who published it first but I know Derren Brown did something similar.