App Trick 08 X-Ray Vision

A mysterious mind reading trick with a die (die is singular for dice). A spectator is asked to think of a secret number from 1 to 6 and then place a die inside a small canister with that secret number face-up. The canister is then closed and sealed inside a larger canister. Incredibly, the magician always knows which number is on top of the die.

Secret: For this trick you will need the two canisters, the lids and the die. Although the canisters appear to be opaque, the smaller canister has a slightly transparent lid. When this canister is tilted upside-down, the die inside falls against the lid and the spots can be secretly seen.

Performance: Ask a spectator to think of a number, then to place the die into the smaller canister with that secret number on top. Turn your head away as this is done, making it obvious that you cannot see the die and therefore have no way of knowing what number the spectator is thinking of.

Once the spectator has placed the lid on the canister and the die can no longer be seen, casually take the canister back and, while reaching for the larger canister, secretly look at the die through the lid.

Once you know the secret number, place the smaller canister into the larger one and seal it shut. It now just takes good showmanship to reveal the number in the most dramatic way possible. You can pretend to have X-ray vision and be able to see through the two canisters, or you can pretend to read the spectator’s mind. The more emphasis you place on the great skill required to discover the secret number, the more impressive the trick will become!

APP TRICK – X-RAY VISION

This mind reading trick can be enhanced using the Marvin’s Magic app! Inside your set you will find a small round sticker featuring stars and a question mark. First, carefully place this on the lid of the larger X-Ray Vision canister. Next, download the Marvin’s Magic app from either the Apple App store or Google Play store and then tap the red icon. This will bring up ten trick options. Tap on the X-Ray Vision icon.

When performing X-Ray Vision, secretly discover the hidden number on the die (as described in the previous trick) and then open the Marvin’s Magic app. When you tap the X-Ray Vision icon, two dice displaying all six sides will appear on the screen. Don’t draw attention to this picture, just secretly tap the number that corresponds to the die hidden inside the canister.

Press PERFORM and point the camera at the sticker on top of the large canister. A virtual 3D die will appear inside the canister. It will animate and spin round before eventually stopping with the same number face-up as the real hidden die! This is a stunning 3D effect that gives the illusion that you have a working X-Ray machine in your phone!