I have most of the MW series as well (only missing 4 of them).
I would have to say that in general where thare are changes, I like the Tenyo versions of the effects better. For instance although Mysterious Queen hides the secret better it also looks more like there it has something to hide.

I don't remember a difference in quality between Pencillia and Twisted Pencil. Twisted Pencil seemed to work fine for me but maybe I'll go back and take another look. By the way MB made Twisted Pencil in two different colors - brown and blue.

The non-Tenyo Magic Works tricks I also found to be very good and not standard kids magic tricks. Although many of them use very old principles, they are usually done in a very creative way.

For instance, one trick that never gets much mention but I have found myself doing more often, especially for kids, is Invisible Hook. It uses the standard Prayer Vase gimmick but it has a locking mechanism so it can be freely handed out to examine. Even people that know the Prayer Vase trick will not be able to do this without knowing how to "unlock" it. It drives kids batty that they cannot do this depite me repeatedly showing them how simple it is.

And I'd agree with everyone else that the electronic tricks are definately worth getting especially Spirit in the Coffin which is extemely clever. And I'd never had any problems with it breaking. Which part is it that usually breaks?

As far as the a

Oh,Oh. It seems someone murdered xl18 while he was writing his post. Probably stole all his Tenyo and MW tricks, too.

And then there were 20...

The version of the Prayer Vase you speak of with the fish prop is Jeff Sheridan's creation.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaah man!!! Dog's dink!!! I just drop lost my lengthy reply post to everything above. I'll be back with another attempt.

Why is it that no one ever mentions the Magic Works series 5 releases (listed below with the Tenyo name to the right)?

Cross Wands/Crossroads
Perplexing Pencil Penetration/The Ninja Experiment
Excalibur/(Same name as Tenyo)
Cube Tunnel/Tunnel of Darkness
Rainbow disks/Moons of Jupiter
Through the Looking Glass/Wonder Window

OK....so there never was a series 5...just wanted to see if you all were paying attention.

Lol!!

There was supposed to be a Magic Works Video Magic Set. You can find a photograph of the prototype in their literature. All different tricks, and the set came in a big box with a VHS tape. The whole thing was designed by Mark Setteducati and ready to go when Milton Bradley pulled the plug on the whole project.

Richard,

Where is this literature showing a prototype of the Magic Works Magic Set? I'm curious about what this set could have included.
I have most (but not all) of the Magic Works items but don't recall any mention of a set.

Thanks

It's on a brochure that came with the final series.

Was it a box like the one on top of Angelo's page? http://www.tenyoworld.co.uk/ (click MB's Magic Works).

It's not on Angelo's page.

Wow! Some pretty kind words & some pretty informative inputs all around. Great goodwill & fellowship too. Thanx all. Thought I'd add some more general mumblings & blatant babblings to the mix.

It appears in MW case that 'Original' means non-Tenyo version not original methods/principles. Both 'Mad Skills' Julie & John have pointed out to me that Ghost Deck is in reality a Dan Harlan effect. I've known the trick all these years as Mind Reading Computer Cards. This version was a knockoff of a knockoff I guess. Richard & xl18 noted that Invisible Hook has been done in a different format also. Ditto for Crate Escape.

The general consensus is that the Electronic Talkers are the true pearls of the whole series. To this I completely agree. Spirit in the Coffin seems to be the most beloved of the 3. The irony of this is that Spirit has the least impressive performance odds of the 3. Guardian of the Grave is a 1 in 9 chance. Secret of the Sphinx gives an impressive 1 in 13 probability odds or a 1 in 7 in a double presentation. Spirit gives a lowly & meagre 1 in 4 chance. Its true brilliance & the cause of its popularity (imo) is that the chosen card revelation seems to come from nowhere with zero clues given. As John once wrote months ago, Spirit is also the only glitchy 1 of the 3. Has anyone come up with a cure for the mistaken "MY master knew...the eye" performance curse? More firmness or a lighter touch on the button perhaps?

Of the 30 tricks, the math works out to 50% original & 50% Tenyo versions. I find it hard to put this down to a fluke. Seems like a contractual obligation factor to me. Pure conjecture here thou.

To the best of my research capabilities, Magic Works was the most mass produced & marketed magic series ever. Not to PO sellers, but this is great news to us new buyers. The tricks were widely available & in great numbers. Nothing drives down prices like wide availability. This caused a surplus in retail, with low, low prices of $1.99 - $4.99 not uncommon. The only items in the line that may rise in price a little, should be the difficult to find Tenyos. Let me explain for clarity. Sutekina Trick is now rare, thus Rope of Calcutta becomes a good substitute & demand rises. DO NOT over pay on this stuff, collectors. There are thousands of copies of each item as far as I can tell.

Well, I best beat the feet for now Amigos. Time to make my neighbourhood look messy again.

Some Magic Works tricks sold over a million pieces, however most will have been broken and thrown away. The ones we see around today are a tiny number of the ones made, and were likely collected by magicians when new.

All three Talking Magic Works effects are by Mark Setteducati.

This is it I believe, thanks John.



More info on Magic Works and Mr. Setteducati see http://www.marksetteducati.com .

Try the good old goat-wolf-cabbage puzzle by the way

That's not the photo I've seen. Interesting because it's different.

Actually, "Computer Mind Reading Cards" was a knockoff of "Ghost Deck" which was an authorized version of my "Missing Think," but who's really keeping track anyway?! All I did was compute the truncated binary equivalents for 3 out of 5 in a range of 8 and apply the results positionally across a 3 dimensional representation of a set... to create a principle which eliminates the need for any calculation in this type of effect. Simple, really!

It's pretty easy to tell that all versions have been based on my original since they've all used the identical layout (although at least 8 vigintillion(US) possibilities exist). Milton Bradley used it with my blessing, of course. I'm sure everybody else would have been too lazy to change the layout EVEN if they understood the principle... which they don't!

So, now there's a Chinese version for $1.66. Now, that's a knockoff!
--Harlan

Dan the endless rip offs must be frustrating but at least you have kept a sense of humor!

John

Dan's been through enough sh*t that I think his world view is now well organized.

MW, including the non-Tenyo items, seem to be going for a lot more than $4.99 these days.

That's my point: the only examples of Magic Works that have survived are generally those bought by magicians--just like Tenyo pieces. So the prices will be higher.