I have been sitting on this for quite some time now. Michael shared it with me back in November and I was blown away. Typical Murray genius. It’s so simple and so deceptive. It’s a totally new take on ACAAN (even though it seems someone SHOULD have already thought of this.)

I gave it the wife test after learning and it and it fooled her BAD. It just seems too fair. Michael’s demo shows just how deceptive it is. There are several smart additions which aid in the deceptiveness.

I don’t think anyone will be disappointed with this.

Madison

Ok, so I've just watched the explanation (as well as the full uncut performances) and thought I'd give a little (unbiased) review for anyone who cares what a new and not-yet-established member of the Café think about this trick.

The plot is very straight-forward (focusing more on mind reading than on magic), and there are no overly unnatural / unusual actions done by the performer. Everything feels as it potentially should. There is one "move", and in all honesty it's not even really a move, as if the spectator were to catch you doing it, they wouldn't really come any closer to knowing the method at all. This is not to say that the move SHOULD be done openly (on the off-beat is always preferable), but simply to reassure people that it is hardly a sleight and hardly anything overly suspicious. There are alternatives to the main "move" presented that are even less sleight-heavy (not that the first one is) and can be burned more by the spectator for those that would prefer something along those lines. All variations taught make sense in the context of the routine, and aren't just shown as not-thought-out fillers.

Not wanting to say too much before Michael openly releases the full performances, I'll try to remain somewhat vague as to the specifics of the card and number thought of. Suffice it to say that the number can truly be anywhere from 1-52, and the card is not forced. Also, it is worth noting that the performer has no knowledge of either the card or the number before the finale of the trick, in which the card is revealed to be at the number.

In general, the method is incredibly easy and is nothing revolutionary (not that this is a bad thing). I trust all the glowing reviews will be enough to make sure that nobody dismisses the method in fear of it being too transparent or obvious to the spectator - I assure you it is not. The handling is very hands-off, with the spectator cutting and shuffling (parts) of the deck at various points throughout the routine. The spectator can deal to the card themselves, as by that point all the "dirty work" is complete.

The only "negative" point I would make is that a certain aspect of the method (can't really go into details here, but it is related to the spectator's shuffling during the routine) may come across as slightly illogical (TO MAGICIANS / MENTALISTS). I don't think this is enough of a downside to negate all the positives, and I highly doubt spectators would give it much second thought at all - it is somewhat justified in the routine and isn't in any way random or dodgy as a process.

As is to be expected from MindFX products, the explanation is great, and goes over everything in more-than-sufficient detail. Michael also does a good job of crediting various people that he sees as having had similar ideas (to at least parts of his own trick).

All in all, I highly recommend this.


EDIT: I forgot to mention that all early orders also receive a copy of Michael's "Recreation", which is another ACAAN. I can't comment on that just yet (have only started reading it), but it's very generous of Michael to offer this as a bonus to early purchasers.

Many thanks for the support gents, all orders have now been emailed out. As mentioned these are all done manually which saves me having to add VAT on them. As mentioned at the top of the product description I will be adding a full performance clip to the site on Monday and in the interim am offering a free copy of my ReCreation ACAAN with this product through till Monday as a thanks for the faith in my work

Many thanks for the in depth initial feedback too Derotanim, I am sure you will love it when you put it to use. Be sure to let us know how it plays for you too!

Pegasus, since you were one of the very first to show interest in this shoot me a pm and I will gift you a free copy, the only condition I ask is that you give it an honest review after you have tried it in performance (without any rush to do so).

Wishing you all a great weekend!!!

Best Wishes Michael

Very kind Michael but I shall buy my copy like everyone else. I shall wait for a few more reviews before doing so though.

Just finished watching all the material as well. Lovely. Simple.

I have not yet performed it, but I think anyone with basic card handling could perform this right away. It is always nice to have simple, virtually self-working, effects ready to go that could be done anytime you are asked to "do something". This lands right in that category for me.

The subtleties are very clever, there are enough elements that make this feel different than other ACAAN's. Mr. Murray should feel quite proud of this release.

Thank you!

I received this and immediately watched the videos!

The production is very straightforward with no frills- just clear concise instructions. While this is great as an ACAAN, I love how Michael details the alternatives which is in reality a toolbox on its own and I will be using some of those techniques in other card work.

As for the ACAAN effect, it is very direct. Yes, it is well suited for a mentalist. I would not play it as coincidence or magic (one can spin it like if they want to). The so-called 'move' is very well choreographed you are more than likely to not see it during the performance. This just shows the extra layers not advertised.

This effect works from a borrowed shuffled deck with 1-52 choice of number. That alone is enough.

I agree with Derotanim about the 'negative point'. It is us nitpicking but there are those audience members who can actually bring it under the spotlight.

My other main negative is with a specific angle in the presentation that I am seeing more and more in ACAAN especially as mentalists: "I will position you card at your number".

Michael does a lovely job making sense of it but it in my opinion, it causes confusion and questions to be asked even after the effect is done. They will not know how the effect is done. But that point if and when they question it will take away from the effect. Again, this is my opinion performing ACAAN. The Crusade had the same angle and I did not like it after a while.

If the same piece is performed as a magician, then there are few presentations that will not only make sense, but make it more amazing (with few handling changes).

Overall, I love this piece and I am already working on tweaking it to fit my style.

Great work Michael and such an awesome price for an anytime, anywhere piece.

P.S.: Even though I already own ReCreation, it is a hidden gem that while situational (and thus limited), is devastating!

Just got my email download from Michael too. Congrats on another well put together project my friend! Keep em coming Michael!

Many thanks for all the feedback gents, I know you will love it even more when you guys start working it.

You may be happy to know that I have big plans this year and am in the process of closing a deal to purchase some new premises right next door to my office which will be exclusively used for filming projects. This will allow me to raise the standard of the video production and will also allow me to produce more videos for both new and existing material.

Best Wishes Michael

I’ll take Pegasus’s 😀 but seriously I am looking forward to this and will most likely eventually buy it.

I know it’s just me but I think the teaching is very poor way too quick it’s like he’s in a rush to get it filmed
First and last I’ll buy from Michael

You watched it in 2x.

I just watched it as well. Nice, simple, fooling concept. Easily adapted to slightly different moves that I'm already fairly proficient at. Presentationally flexible. Price is fair. Definitely a more casual, close up effect, though. I wouldn't do this on stage. Good stuff.

Can someone who has this answer yes or no to these ACAAN criteria ?

-deck on the table beforehand ?
-free choice of card ?
-free choice of number ?
-normal deck ?
-no manipulation, hands-off ?
-spectator does everything ?

1. Yes
2. Yes-ish. Not forced, but not a completely randomly-thought-of card (although the card is random).
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. Very hands-off, with minimal "manipulation" (barely) by the performer
6. No, but can do a lot / most of it

I don't know how an effect could satisfy all 6 of your conditions, and if it can, show me it - must be some kind of miracle! (Even Asi Wind's highly-regarded A.A.C.A.A.N. only meets the first 3 of these)

I find this quite surprising - in the video I watched Michael went over everything a few times and in more-than-sufficient detail. Even if this product's explanation wasn't to your liking, Michael's / MindFX's other products are (at least!) equally fantastic and largely feature slow explanations (including when compared to Fragment). I wouldn't be so rash in ruling him as someone you'll never buy from again. Just my 2c.

I just bought it and watched the download. It's clever and simple. It definitely feels like something that should have come out long ago. I don't mean that in a bad way, just because of it's simplicity. I'm surprised no one has thought of this before. This fits my style very well. I like tricks that are easy to do, practically self working, and can be done with a normal shuffled deck. I think what will make this effect really shine is a good presentation. There is only one sort of slight odd bit with a shuffle the spectator does further in the effect. This has been mentioned previously. It's not really a big deal at all, but something that will benefit from a good presentation.

I really like it and will be using it for sure. Definitely worth the purchase in my opinion. It's actually one of the cleaner ACAAN effects out there when presented right.

It’s hard to judge this objectively right now, the glowing reviews and recurring statements of “this is a magician fooler” set my expectations at a certain level, and after seeing the price I realised those expectations probably weren’t going to be met, and I needed to lower them... kinda hard though right?

I don’t think I managed to lower them, which is why 3 hours on... I’m actively trying to filter out the subjective feelings I got after watching the first performance video. About 30 seconds in Michael gave the spectator the first instruction, and it was at that point I realised what method he’d be using, and was waiting to see when and how he would employ it. 20 seconds after that I saw him do it, and at that moment I had this feeling of “that’s a shame, I really wish I was clueless”. The next 2 mins were nice, Michael had added a couple of touches that spiced up what could have been a very boring presentation. The spectator loved it, which is a great sign. But I won’t lie I was a tad deflated. I don’t think it’s entirely wrong why I felt this way, but mostly wrong, I’ll explain why for those on the fence:

If Michael had performed this for me, and I didn’t know what the conclusion was meant to be, he might have fooled me for a moment. I’m sure I’d backtrack to the correct solution, but I would have been in the moment for the duration of the presentation, and walked away with a more positive outlook. But because that didn’t happen, my mind focused on the POTENTIAL negative elements of the method; firstly the first part of the trick takes a bit of time (not too much) but enough for me to notice. It’s not procedural, but just unavoidably a bit long winded, and the potential issue is that this moment can double in length half the time.

Another issue running in tandem with this is that fact that the spectator must remember a number and a card without sharing that information.... I know that seems like a positive, and it is... but it can also cause an issue. If I asked someone to simply think of a number and a card, I wouldn’t worry to much about them forgetting either piece of info (it would happen eventually, but hey-ho they’d just admit to forgetting and I’d move on). But with this method I’d worry about it a tad more about them MISREMEMBERING. From experience using similar methods in the past, a spectator can easily misremember the suit, or get a bit flustered and completely misremember another piece of info entirely and that’s it, the trick will fail. It’s not a fear of forgetting, but a fear of misremembering that’s the issue. I’m not saying this will happen often, nor am I saying this risk can’t be mitigated, all I’m saying is that my mind noticed this potential issue straight away, and it’s worth mentioning.

The third potential issue is that due to the nature of the method, you basically have to present this with a mentalism-esque favour for the whole thing to make sense. A more traditional ACAAN (like asi winds) can be presented in so many more ways.

I’ve labelled all of these points as “potential” issues, because I feel like a lot of people won’t be phased by them at all, and more importantly they are small in comparison to the positives:

This trick is similar to a couple of releases by atlas brookings, but I much prefer this version. It’s more streamlined and to the point, it’s definitely more fooling (I think that’s why a few magicians were fooled in the first place), and ultimately it feels like it’s getting to the conclusion in a more concise manor.

It’s incredibly easy to do, and there Is literally is no real restriction.

I would say it’s a almost perfect trick to do when someone hands you a deck of cards.

It’s priced very well. I mean, WELL worth £12. So many creators have released arguably worse stuff for way more money. It’s great value even if you don’t end up using it that often.


In conclusion, I actually really like the trick, but I don’t like how the human mind works. If I had just not looked at any reviews and took a punt on it, and have walked away loving the improvements this trick has on previous offerings, and those negatives mentioned above wouldn’t have bothered me anywhere near as much.


That said, I think this review might help lower the expectations of some people on the fence, and they’ll walk away feeling the way I wish I did. I’d recommend this to anyone, but it isn’t the best ACAAN I know.... but the best ACAAN I know is much harder than this and can’t be presented the way in which this one can... so If you love the presentation, this might be the best ACAAN for you.

I think I’ll appreciate this trick more as time does on.

I am always fearful when a demo video bypasses the selection process. I wonder if a video showing the selection process for the card AND the selection process for the number will be forthcoming. Not showing either makes me think that they must be weak. Too many times, too many times I see reviews from magicians that tell us how badly they were fooled, only to find out they were fooled by principles or handlings that are in most beginner books. I hope this is as good as many have said, but I cannot plunk down my hard earned cash for something that is over-hyped and just a tired, re-work of an old math-magic process. I hope I am wrong, and this is a knock-out! But I need more convincing...

Well Michael has said he's posting a full performance on Monday, so you can make up your mind then. In the meantime, I picked this up earlier today. Its a very solid effect, but if you go into this expecting a pure ACAAN (e.g. "they name a card, name a number, deal down and its there", this is not for you) - the tagline on the cover even says its "NOT the grail you are looking for". What you are getting is a well constructed effect that is impromptu, easy to do and deceptive.

Personally I was not a fan of the procedure involved for a few reasons - and while the scripting does justify the actions, I still have to compare it to the the vast number of ACAANs available and there are others that fit my style better. However, if you do not own Recreation, it is worth jumping on the limited time bonus offer as that is worth it for the price alone. When you think about it, Fragment really is a streamlined and practical approach to his solution in Recreation - however there are trade offs to achieve that to keep in mind. Hope that helps anyone on the fence.

My version meets all these conditions, but it is quite difficult to perform, you just need some work by it works perfectly.

For Fragment, I will wait for a complete demo, too afraid of a mathematical procedure...