I'm glad you liked GOLDEN, Jaizon! Sad to hear you won't be using it, but I understand not everything fits everyone's personal style... The vast majority of GOLDEN customers have been very happy with the package and putting it to use right away.

Still, perhaps try out a few of the routines if you haven't had a chance... it certainly wouldn't diminish the resale value of the kit. You might be surprised at the reactions you get, particularly with "Reunion". It seems so simple - and it is - but it always goes over big for me. Perhaps just because it's so different than the usual thing we do? Or because it's focused on friends? Or just because it's so fair looking? Not sure, but my audiences love it!

FYI, only 10 copies of GOLDEN left in inventory... No, not a limited edition release, but there will be a delay of a few weeks after my inventory is depleted, so if you were thinking about a Christmas present to yourself. ;-)

Much thanks to everyone that has made GOLDEN a success and for the very positive reviews!

Golden is a really clever idea that I'm still wondering how and if I can explore within my performance style and conditions. I just got the gimmicks, read the booklet and watched the videos and I like the idea of it. The complete package is extremely thorough on the props provided, explanations and the applications for those explanations. Robb gives you various choices for ways to use the gimmicks and helps you find out what might be best for each application and what other gimmicks you might need to get if you don't already have in order to use it for those applications.

The blurb Robb posted implied to me as I understood it that stealing and switching are separate from the marking application of the gimmick and it is not, you can only switch or steal "marked" billets, this can be a very big plus and can also be a con for some. I also think that it is worth mentioning that it does involve a visible gimmick(although I'd hardly call that a visible compromise) and it is justified in the same way that I'd say an envelope is justified in Cassidy's 4DT, to make it more test-conditions.

The marking feature alone is not for me and, for now, I don't have any application of the concept I can think of actually using but if you do find something for you in the routines provided or it helps you come up with a routine of your own with that method it might be worth a lot for you, it is a really clever idea.

Woover, thanks for the kind words! Yes, the marking feature of GOLDEN has some subtle uses I will be writing up soon. You can mix the markings with some dual reality and do some powerful stuff. It's a technique I didn't share in the manual because I had to stop writing at some point. ;-) However, it's a really great method and I think you'll like it a lot! Also, like I said to Jaizon, don't overlook "Reunion"! People love that effect and it's a lot of fun to build into a fairly elaborate but technically easy routine.

To GOLDEN owners and those considering purchasing, I have come up with a new routine that is THE definitive routine that you can do using GOLDEN. It has it all: three phases, each one stronger (and quite different) from the last, excellent routine structure and reveals, involves up to 15 audience members and their CHOSEN thoughts (no need to control what they think), the inclusion of a promotional memento that all of the participants can take home with them... it's psychometry, telepathy, the perfect setup for practicing some "warm reading" and more... echoes of Sneak Thief but on steroids. In fact, there are aspects of many mentalism classics rolled into this routine but with many new twists and turns and a method that makes it so ridiculously easy you'll almost feel guilty performing it!

Absolutely impossible and baffling. Not only is it the ultimate effect for GOLDEN, I think it may very well be the best routine I've ever created... And here's the best part: IT IS DEAD EASY TO PERFORM! I mean, there is ZERO technical demands on the performer. You have to remember three people out of 12-15... that's it as far as difficulty.

If you have bought GOLDEN, this single routine is worth your entire purchase price and then some... If you don't have GOLDEN, then this routine alone is a reason to own it. I realize I'm offering a lot of hype here but it is THAT good.

Here's the way the effect appears to the audience:


THE EFFECT

You have 12-15 blank, unmarked pieces of card distributed to the audience by OTHER audience members. The cards are COMPLETELY UNMARKED. You ask everyone who receives a card to write down a single word that is truly meaningful to them... It can be anything: a name of a dear friend or relative, the name of someone they admire, a place they have visited and loved, an activity they love to partake in... ANYTHING, but it MUST be meaningful to them. They do so.

You hand an audience member a gift bag and ask them to go around and collect all of the slips in the bag, then to bring the bag to you on stage, giving it a good shake up as they do to mix all of the slips.

You then reach into the bag, pull out a slip, open it up and say, "Now... I am going to announce what this slips says and I ask that whoever wrote this thought NOT REACT... or at least TRY not to react! The word is 'kayaking'... Kayaking, kayaking..." You repeat the word a few times as you wander into the audience... You say the word to a few people as you look them in the eye, looking for any hint of a reaction... Finally, you settle on a single person... You say, "Miss... you did a very good job of not reacting as I said your word... but in fact, you DID give it away by trying a little TOO hard to avoid eye contact with me... You did in fact think of the word 'kayaking', yes? I thought as much! Please take your slip back, it's yours to keep..."

You now return to the stage and say, "Success! It feels so good! Ah, but let's take this once step further... kick it up a level, if you will... Now, obviously when I said the word out loud I could look around at folks and perceive who was - or was not - reacting as I said the word... Let's take that advantage out of the equation..."

You shake up the bag of billets, reach in and grab a new one... Opening the slip, you announce: "This time, I will NOT say what thought is contained on this slip... but everyone who wrote down a word, please start repeating that word to yourself, over and over..."

You then walk around the audience and say, "I'm picking up something on this side of the room... Folks over on this side, could you please NOT think of your word for a few moments? I know it's hard NOT to think of something when you're told not to think of it, but please... Yes, definitely picking up something over here... In this vicinity... In fact, I think it's one of you two gentlemen thinking of this word... Everyone else, please still your thoughts... Just you two... You, you... I believe this is YOUR slip... But I don't want you to tell us yet! Please take the slip, keep it folded up and put in your pocket... and come back to the stage with me..."

You lead Kevin back to the stage. You ask Kevin to pickup the bag of slips... You then say, "Ok, Kevin, tell us, what word did you write down? 'Denver'? Ok, ok... SO, if the slip in your pocket in fact says 'Denver', I will be two for two and I think you will agree that that is far more than mere chance would allow, yes? But just hold on... let's not check yet, Kevin. I want to try one last thing... something really strange with... You! Miss, would you be willing to help out? You did write down a thought, didn't you? Yes? Excellent! Please join us!"

You now have Kevin holding the bag with the slips as Susan joins you on stage... "Susan, this is something that sometimes works for me... I'm not even sure HOW it works... but I want to try it to REALLY drive this home... Susan, please extend your left hand..." You take Susan's left hand with your right hand. Kevin is standing to your left. You ask him to hold the bag so you can reach it. With a clearly empty hand, you reach into the bag, rummage around for a few seconds, and bring your hand out holding a single slip... You say, "Susan, again... not sure HOW this works or even IF it worked... but I DO believe this slip contains your thought! Does that seem possible to you? Well, for now just take the slip... don't open it yet..."

"Oh, Kevin, sorry, did not mean to neglect you... You said you were thinking of 'Denver'... Kevin, could you remove the slip from your pocket that I handed you earlier and confirm for everyone that it does indeed have your thought written on it?" Kevin brings out the slip and confirms you got it right! You thank him for his participation and send him back to his seat to a round of applause.

You turn your attention back to Susan... "Susan, before we find out if that slip is inexplicably yours, I'd like you to think of what you wrote down earlier... Just think it to yourself... It's a name, isn't it? A name of someone close to you... A relative, your child? Please... don't say the name..."

You pickup a pad and write something on it without letting Susan see... You turn the pad to face the audience. They see you wrote "Jeffery". You then say to Susan, "Susan, now is the moment of truth... Please open the slip and tell us YES or NO, is that in fact the slip with your word on it?"

Susan will confirm that it is! "Excellent, Susan! Now, Susan... please tell us all the name you were thinking of..."

Susan says "Jeffery"! The audience gasps, you turn the pad to Susan to show her that you received her thought in addition to SOMEHOW finding her slip lost in a bag of 15 others.

FINIS!


So... no demo video but I THINK that is a pretty good outline of what the audience will experience. And I'll tell you this: there is PRECIOUS little left out in the above description! It is 99% exactly what the audience will experience, with a tiny bit of detail left out to protect the method and scripting subtleties that give the routine it's value.

Again, SUPER EASY to perform! The complete explanation will be going out to GOLDEN owners in the next few days.

Oh, one last thing... to realize the impossibility of the effect described above (because it may not be absolutely apparent at first blush because this isn't a standard mentalism plot), please imagine doing the following...

Imagine having five of your friends write down random words on some cards. The words should be truly random and printed as plainly as possible. The cards are mixed up and one is chosen at random. It's your job to figure out which of your five friends wrote that word.

Now, actually try this out some time! You'll find that figuring out who wrote even a SINGLE word is going to fail 80% of the time on average... And you KNOW your friends pretty well.

Well, this routine IS that same game but played with complete strangers... but not just five of them... but 10, 15 or even 20 of them... and not only will you figure out who wrote one word but you'll figure out who wrote THREE of them... one in a VERY peculiar fashion... AND you'll effortlessly read somebody's mind in the process to boot.

I think that's simpler to follow. ;-)

Hey guys, a GOLDEN customer felt that the effect described above leaves out an important detail that might mislead some. In interest of full disclosure I will tell you that I *did* leave out *something* in the description that is related to the method. However, that *something* will, from the audience perspective, make the routine conditions even fairer. However, since that *something* is intrinsic to the secret of GOLDEN and the presentation, I didn't want to give it away here. I hope that makes sense.

Basically, just be aware that I haven't described *every* detail of the routine and every single element in play. However, the routine does PLAY as I described it and WILL knock the socks off your audience with MINIMAL effort on your part.

Oh, also, over in "Tricks and Effects" several people have nominated GOLDEN as "Trick of 2016"! Very flattered to see that. ;-)

If there had been a category for 'Tool of the Year' I think GOLDEN would be a runaway winner. This gives you the means to present some exceptionally clean mentalist effects but it rests with the buyer to think how they can best use GOLDEN.

Robb, your 12-15 person routine description just caused me to hit buy now. I'm only disappointed I waited until now....I have a strolling corporate holiday party Thursday night for 700 people that I would have loved to have had this for.....now I just need to patiently wait

Tony, I'll get it out to you tomorrow. Yeah, it would be a great routine for that context. I've been performing for stage and parlor for a bit over three years. In that time I've gotten to know what kinds of routines work... For me, the routine must be easy to follow, build in phases with a strong finish and easy to execute... and 90%+ fool proof. Of course, no effect is 100% and there's always something that can go wrong, but this routine is about as good as you could want. It has very good structure with multiple methods at play that create a slew of logical disconnects to make it baffling... and with lots of audience involvement. Can't wait to get it out to everyone and hear the feedback!

Have a Christmas gig tonight and will be using GOLDEN. I am going to have a spectator write 'Happy Christmas' on any one of 7 folded business cards, mix them up and then they successfully locate it.

Well, that's what I intend anyway!!

Like that Neil! ;-)

And Happy Holidays to all GOLDEN customers... Check your email boxes for a very special gift. ;-)

I just hit the PayPal button.

I never try explaining magic purchases to my friends.

i am not even sure what I am buying. LOL

However I trust the Café grass roots releases compared to the hyped releases of some products.

Doc

Robb has came up with a routine where Golden not only makes sense but actually becomes the best solution I can think of with the routine Psycho-Thief(the routine described on this page). Really brilliant, while the others weren't for me, this one is something I'm sure I'll use sometime in the future once I finish working on the presentation to better fit my character.

The 'Happy Christmas' routine outlined above went across really well.

I have also come across 'a way of handling' which has proved very reliable and will send this over to Robb early next week.

Thanks so much, Doc. What you mentioned above is exactly what I was trying to accomplish with my marketing of GOLDEN. I myself don't buy many mentalism products these days but when I do, it's the stuff that I hear about through word of mouth. I have grown tired of the dramatic, big budget trailers and canned demos showing people freaking out. I truly think that whole style of marketing magic and mentalism products is very cynical and dishonest. GOLDEN is getting out there a few people at a time and that's exactly what I wanted...

Very cool, Woover! Yes, "Psycho Thief" is really my favorite. I had been working and performing aspects of it for awhile, but it was lacking something... not enough variety of build. Now it's there I believe, although I will continue to refine it, striving for mentalism perfection. There's always room for improvement!

Well, I just pulled the trigger. This just looks too frackin' good! Well done, Robb! Are there any still in stock to ship at the moment..?

Mine should arrive today.

I am looking forward to this package.

Doc