This is a clever idea for forcing one out of 4 items that is suitabe for parlour or stage performance.
Here is one example. Let us say you are performing for a couple who is celebrating their wedding anniversary.
4 wine gift bags are displayed on a table. On top of each bag is a different colour cloth peg that keeps the bag folded shut. 3 persons plus one of the couple who is celebrating their anniversary are invited on stage. They are given the choice of moving around the 4 bags, and also repositioning the 4 colour pegs. Each of them then chooses any number from 1 to 4. Let us assume the one celebrating the anniversary chooses “2”, and the other 3 volunteers choose “4”, “1” and “3”.
An envelope that holds 4 display cards is seen on the table right at the start of the performance. From this envelope, you take out the 4 number display cards and place them according to the colour of the pegs. The spectator who chooses “1” is given the content of the bag at label 1. The other 2 spectators are given the contents in bags labeled “3” and “4” respectively. The 3 spectators receive a bottle of coke, a bottle of orange juice, and a bottle of mineral water, respectively. The person who is celebrating their anniversay, who chose the number “2”, receives a bottle of wine at bag no 2.
If all choices are made freely by the spectators, you need 4 sets of coloured bag labels to make the spectator choose the correct bag. Mentalists solve this by having the 4 sets of labels inside at least 2 envelopes, but the envelopes cannot be place upfront on the table right at the start of the performance. Astor has solved this problem by a very devious design of the envelope and a gimmick that contains the 4 sets of lables. The labels are seen protruding out of the envelope. There does not seem to be any switching of the labels.
You receive everything to perform this effect except the bags. The bags will depend on what you wish to put inside each of them. They are not gimmicked and you can obtain them easily. You can use gift bags, wine bags or paper bags. You receive the 4 colourful pegs, the special envelope, a special gimmick, a crib, and the necessary colour labels. You also receive 2 extra envelopes for another method of performing this effect. You are given a link to a 14 minutes tutorial video that explains everything.
The effect can be used for a birthday performance, or to show how a magician can influence the decisions of people.
I mentioned that Astor has an ingenious way of displaying the envelope with the bag labels at the start of the performance. The 2 extra envelopes that you receive are for another method of performing this effect. This method is inferior to the single envelope method. I would not purchase this trick and not use the first method originated by Astor.
As with all Astor products, the quality of the indiviudal items are top notch. The 4 different colour pegs and labels are in bright and vibrant orange, blue, green and pink. This is not a one pony trick, but can be used in various different occassions. (Rated 5/5 stars)
