Title: Word Up
Artist: Vinny Sagon
Producers: Vinny Sagon
Link: Available At Your Favorite Murphy’s Magic Dealer
Demo Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ej2__NqCBY
Retail Price: $19.95 USD
Learning Difficulty: Easy
Length of Video: 7 Minutes (Approx.)


An interesting premise in close up magic. It’s got a bit of a mentalism or mental magic kick to it and it uses cross word puzzles, which isn’t something you see a lot of. As you can see in the promo video you have a spectator choose a word they see in the crossword puzzle, cause that word to disappear from the card, and reappear on the back of the card with a magical wave of your finger. It’s quite a unique little miracle.

The trick comes with the main effect, as well as a bonus effect which is more of a second or extended routine to the original. The printed instructions do a good job explaining the trick, and to be fair, it’s not all that difficult anyways. Everything is fairly self-explanatory and the hardest sleight you’ll have to know is a card palm. The cards construction is that of a sturdy plastic. These cards will last a lifetime with proper care. About the only damage I foresee ever being an issue is maybe the letters may scratch off with careless use. But you’d really have to have a go at the cards to make that happen. They really are well made. The bonus card is, as far as I can tell, pointless. The bonus effect is a way to restore the final card back to normal so you can repeat it for another person. But it’s really just a duplicate of one of the cards you get in the primary set. So… I guess you have a backup if you need it.

Word Up is a nice little pocket trick for strolling. It’s pretty unconventional so it’s a good thing to use to breakup the usual card, coin, and sponge ball routines. The reveal is visual, and the magic original, and the reactions walk the gamut between stunned silence and rapturous applause. Angles are nonexistent, and the reset is done instantly. If you do the extended version then you’re reset before the trick even officially ends. Overall a great original effect!


When I give my product scores below I am measuring them on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 Being absolute the worst score possible, and 10 being the absolute best, making a score of five average. The three points that I grade upon is Product Quality, Teaching Quality, and Overall Quality.

Product Quality: 7
At the current retail price this thing is a steal.

Teaching Quality: 6
The video is over kill. You should have no problems figuring this out with the printed instructions.

Overall Quality: 8
Overall not a bad little trick. I liked it!


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