Steam 2.0 – Ali Nouira

Product description : Peek methods have been around for decades, if not centuries ! I’ve seen a lot of them, I’m not a mentalist at all but I like to do mental magic. Steam was released some time ago, I already did a French Video review on it and here we are with the 2.0 version. As with most peeks, the idea is the same, you ask someone to draw or write something down on a piece of paper, they hide it or put it back and you’re able to know what they have been drawing. Steam relies on a very clever and devious method but is it worth your money ? Let’s find out !

Price and where to buy it : This is sold at $44.95 and you can find it in nearly every Murphy's magic « partner » shop !

What you get : The first version of Steam was released a long time ago and you got a ziplock bag with a printed sheet of paper inside, packaging was not the best. With Steam 2.0, they provide you with a very nice cardboard box, with shining gold writing on it, typical Paul Harris quality product. Inside, you will find a few things such as a marker which is ungimmicked but works very well for the “work”. You also get some envelopes, they are specially made for Steam 2.0 and you won’t be able to find them anywhere else, as well as a glue stick because some of those envelopes were not glued, maybe a production problem. You’re also provided with the special stock paper cut as a business card size so it can fits anywhere and people can write on it. Finally, you get 2 fortune telling fishes which are part of a routine taught in the download. In the download, which is very nicely edited (as with every Paul Harris product), you’ll find a lot of history, information about the trick, as well as some routines and ways of doing the peek. Overall, you get a lot for your bucks, I’m not disappointed at all !

Teaser : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfLGZpgtoxU

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 :
– You can use the envelope only 2 times before having to use a new one, so you will have to buy refills if you do this a lot ! Fortunately, those refills are quite cheap so it shouldn’t cost you a lot.
– You have to put something down on the paper on which they wrote, it’s not a problem with the proper patter but still, it may feel weird for some people.

THE PROS :
– The packaging was lacking in the first version, this one is perfect, again, it’s not important for the trick but it’s nice to receive something this well made, it makes you feel you spent well your money.
– I’ve seen quite a lot of peek techniques and this one is definitely the cleverest that I’ve seen, the principle in play is just magical in itself, you can’t even think of the beginning of the method.
– The paper card that are provided are much more nicer than the previous ones (in the first edition, Ali gave you orange paper you had to cut down), they actually now look like real blank business cards !
– You never touch or come near the card they’ve been writing on, the method allows you to be nearly hands off when it comes to this card.
– The gimmick is now made into envelopes which is the best idea that have been found for Steam ! It makes a lot more sense to me to take out the piece of paper from an envelope and put this envelope to cover the paper than randomly put a deck, a bill or anything else on top of it.
– They provide you with everything you need, you can perform this as soon as you receive the package, which is very nice, you don’t have to go out and buy additional stuff.
– They have been thinking about routines to do with it, the addition of the fortune telling fish is very clever since the fish comes in play not only in the routine but also in the method !
The video has been nicely filmed and edited, it adds a lot to the whole thing, seen live performances and clear explanations is a key point.

Overall rating : If you like what you see on the video, you won’t be disappointed with it, it’s a very clever method and it works well, unfortunately, I have other peek techniques which I use and I won’t switch to Steam 2.0, 3/4 hearts.

As for the difficulty level, except from spectator management and a good routine, you don’t need any “skill” to perform this, I would say 2/5 stars.

Similar products : Peeks have been around for years, I use a wallet called “The Viper Wallet” which is my everyday card holder but you’re free to use the one which suits you the best.

If you liked this review, make sure to check all my other ones on my website : http://lesavisdalexis.wixsite.com/reviews