Chris Philpott doesn't need any introduction.
His creations have always become classics.
In this effect not only he reads people's minds but he shows the process that the mind reading took place.

More info:
https://www.murphysmagic.com/Product.aspx?id=63271

Best regards,
Titanas

This is like the second time (?) I've heard of Mind Thief. I think Chris was sending out promo e-mails about this a little while back and he just sent one today as well. Good to have product shots and the trailer on Murphy's because now I know what the darn thing actually looks like (though perhaps I should have clicked on the link in Chris' mailer). Makes a whole lot more sense as to what this is now. I also like how the 100th Monkey principle is applied here (with that burnished paper look, I like it way better than the white background look from his past releases). I'm going to wait for reviews to come out to see if this is workable for environments I would want to use this in (especially curious as to there being any clean up to this or not and if so how easy it is to do so, the close up 100th Monkey material, Narcissus, was easily cleaned up with a sw**ch, not sure how one would do that with that A5 sized booklet if that's the clean up).

Thanks, Titanas!

Here is some more on the effect:

"Stunning!" "Spectacular!" "Brilliant method!"

Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-es9_XoX58

"This effect is just outstanding! I really love Mind Thief, and I will do it close up. Thanks for putting this out. It is going to be so much fun to do." - Ethan Nessen

"Have to say, Mind Thief is really stunning, very clever. I’m really enjoying it. Thank you for releasing this brilliant effect." - Garry Hadley

Mind Thief is a fun game of imagination, with a plot twist that turns it into a powerful piece of mind reading. A spectator thinks of one of any one of over 30 valuable objects: a platinum Rolex, a Prada necklace, Gucci Shoes, or a million dollars: it is a truly free choice, nothing is ever written down and no questions are asked.

The spectator imagines he has to get this valuable object home and hide it - but someone is trying to steal it from him! The performer shows him pictures and words in a spiral-bound book with options to get home and hide the object: on wide thoroughfares or narrow alleys, entering his home from the front door or back, hiding it in the bedroom of basement. The spectator never tells the performer his choices.

The performer then explains this has all been a con job: the real valuable object is the thought in the spectator's mind, the thief is the magician, trying to steal that thought; and the imagination game told the magician everything he needs to know about how the spectator thinks: for example, his choice of whether to go home on a wide street versus a narrow alley reveals how comfortable they would be sneaking this object home through a crowd and helps the performer interpret their body language. The performer then tells the spectator not only what the valuable object is, but where in his house he's hidden it.

Mind Thief is an effect I've been working on for over five years. It includes a combination of methods and strategies in a way that maximizes the emotional, dramatic and fooling power of the effect. It also includes a number of variations that I've explored along the way. And the Mind Thief method is applicable to other presentations you can make yourself - you can do it with names of people you know and character traits, or superheroes and their powers - there are unlimited possibilities!

Mind Thief can be performed both close up and on stage - it can be performed the same way in both situations but there are subtleties and variations that make use of the special features of both situations.

"I just got Mind Thief. Wow! Truly amazing. The incredible amount of thought and care you put into the effect and its production are evident. Also, 'packs flat and plays big' is always a plus. Thanks for creating a spectacular effect." - Sam Downing

"There is so much amazing flexibility within this intelligent effect. I found myself happily inspired. I ended up creating my own customized application of Mind Thief that dovetails well into both my table hopping and stage show." - Doug Sparkes

"Mind Thief is great - never doubted it would be. I really enjoyed the instructions. The quality of the prop is up to the high standards of all of your products. It's especially nice that you provide PDFs to customize Mind Thief." - Shad Schroeder

"Received Mind Thief yesterday. Absolutely love it! It will be going into the act as soon as possible. Nicely produced prop and brilliant method." - Alan Kennedy

Includes a presentation book, an instructional video and extra jpeg artworks.

$39 + shipping.

On my list for sure... Looks like another awesome release.

If done strolling, is this something that can be done again around spectators who have already seen the effect performed on someone else?
Repeat performances?

I too am interested in this question and would like to know as well if it is suitable to a larger group of 10-20 people.

Says it can be done on stage. I suppose there could be more than 20 folks in the audience.

Usually you would draw in a few tables or a small crowd to do this type of effect.

Then when they all applause the management looks over and thinks

"Wow!! I'm glad I hired that performer!"

Then do it again and again. While you're doing this other people are getting jealous and want to see you....or RUN from you, depending. haha

So this uses the 100th monkey principle?

How many pages in the spiral bound book?

Thanks, Mayhem!

rowdymagi5, this is totally repeatable. As you can see at the end of the trailer, everyone has chosen something different -- there are no f**ces, no changes in procedure. Someone who wanders from one group to another and sees this twice will have no better idea how it's done. The only reason you might not want to do it for the exact same crowd twice is that because of the story, it takes a few minutes to perform this, so pacing could be an issue. I've recently been toying with having two people do this at the same time -- because I provide two alternative ways of, well, um, getting er done, you could use one on one spectator and one on the other -- they could choose two different items and you'd name them both! Since I just thought of it, I don't go into this in the video -- perhaps I'll start a FB group to share ideas like this.

Aligator, it would work very well for groups of 10-50 people -- going much above that the images might get hard to see but there's no reason you can't get a version made on large paper, such as 11 by 17 inch pages.

John C, you could certainly do this that way!

baobow, it does not use the 100th Monkey principle -- none of the words morph into other words here. But some of the ideas from those releases did find their way here in some pretty interesting ways. It was definitely influenced by monkeys!

Aligator, there are 14 pages including covers -- meaning 7 sheets of paper.

Feel free to ask me any more questions.

Looks very interesting ! Are their language restrictions ? and if, could it be made to work in any language ?

Hi Chris, Since you say it can be made bigger...can I assume it can be made smaller?
Cheers!

I would like to see a review from someone who has recently purchased it.

Hey leosx1 -- obviously the printed book is in English, as are the alternate artwork jpegs, but as well as detailing the method and script I include a breakdown so you could use the method with other presentations -- or for that matter, with other languages. It would take a bit of work but it's doable.

Hey westo -- yes it can be made smaller. I'd use the files that are in the dropbox for close up and test out a page or two for legibility before having the booklet made.

Hi Chris. I purchased this early and I'm wondering if you might create a Facebook group for Mind Thief.

Thanks!

Jim

That is an excellent idea J-Mac.

I shouldn't be spending money but this was too tempting to pass up for me. I am very happy I purchased it and will definitely be using this! I love the idea using the story premise with the methods that are used, makes the whole routine a lot more enjoyable to perform but also makes the effect impossible for the audience to figure out. I have an nice size stand-up show coming on December 21st, 100-150 people, that I'll be using this in and will report back how it went. I may even try it out this Friday at a strolling gig.

RNK

Hey J-Mac, I've gotten a few requests for a Facebook group. I suppose it's not a bad idea. Give me a few more days to think about it.

Thank you so much, RNK!

There's a new review on this -- Magic Orthodoxy says:

"This is a fleshed out routine for both close up and stage, Chris Philpott does it again!"

Thanks for that, Magic Orthodoxy! I'd post the review here but I always screw it up.