Product description: Russian Roulette is a famous act in many magicians show, they are different versions out there and different level of dangerousness. And I think you have all seen those videos in which the magician is stabbing his own hand or worse, the spectator’s hand. The difficulty in this kind of routine is to have a realistic looking nail, a good suspense but also a 100% safe method. I think Jon Allen did something great with Pain Game, because he managed to merge both important things and allows you to perform it without a risk. But it’s still incredibly high priced, so is it that good ? Let’s find out !
Price and where to buy it: This is sold at $500 and you can find it in nearly every Murphy's magic partner !
What you get: you get the classic velvet box from Jon, the same in which “Flexion” came, so it’s a typical packaging. Inside, you’ll get a few things, first the explanations video which is not the best I’ve seen but it does the job and understanding the working of the gimmick is quite simple once you get it. You get gimmicked nails, as well as a regular one. The gimmicks are really well made and they’re real nails so you can even let your spectators feel it’s hard and solid metal. You get 4 wooden blocks, with a hole inside so you can place the nails. They’re quite light so you can easily carry them around. You also get 40 paper bags with it and they're very cheap online. Overall, it’s still quite pricy for what you receive but the props are well made.
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:
The price is a big step which is good so that not many people will have it but still, it’s expensive for what it is.
There are only 4 gimmicked nails provided so if you want to have 5 paper bags, you’ll have to buy another one.
THE PROS:
It’s 100% safe if you do things right. I don’t think you can mess up if you take care but with pressure and stress, you may forget to do one move. Since those are real nails, if you forget to do the correct move, you may stab yourself.
As I said, you’re using real nail so you can let people check that they’re made of metal and they can feel the top of it, it’s convincing.
People can tell you which bag they want you to smash, so it’s no more a game of knowing where the nail is but more a situation in which you have to take decisions under pressure.
The gimmicks are quite interesting in the way they’re made, they allow you to do a very clean reveal at the end.
Overall rating: Having seen others versions, this is one of the most expensive but also the best in my opinion. Clean and safe, just what I want, Pain Game will be in my show, 4/4 hearts.
As for the difficulty level, the move you have to do is very easy and you shouldn’t have any problem with it. Make sure you practice so you won’t screw up while performing it for a live audience, 2/5 stars.
Similar products: I think the best option would be Nailed It by Scott Alexander which is even safer than Pain Game !