The One with The Trivial Pursuit Cards by Mark Elsdon

Effect: If you like mentalism you are going to love this!

The performer introduces a packet of Trivial Pursuit cards and places them on the table. He then turns away and need not look at or touch the cards again. The spectator is instructed to cut into the cards and take one out. He looks over the questions on the card and decides on one but tells no one. Following a prelude test dealing with the category of the question that has been chosen, the performer writes something on a piece of paper, folds it up and hands it to the spectator. The spectator is asked to read aloud the question, and then turn the card over and read the answer out. Next he is asked to open the paper and read what the performer wrote. He does so and it is the exact same answer! The performer asks that the cards be handed to a different person. This person is also asked to cut into the cards and take one out. He too chooses a question. This time the performer writes nothing down, he simply announces both the category and the answer to the question the spectator is merely thinking of!

• Yes, both spectators’ cards are different.
• Yes the cards can all be shown to be different at the beginning and end of the routine.
• Yes, the spectator can cut anywhere.
• No, neither spectator writes anything down or tells anyone his selection.
• Yes, the performer can still reveal the answer to the thought of question even if the spectator doesn’t know it himself!
• Yes, the spectator can freely choose any of the questions on the card he takes, they are all different and no, it’s not the same one every time!

Mark Elsdon has developed a mental effect that uses familiar objects and is a real fooler. The performer brings out a stack of cards used in the game Trivial Pursuit™. The performer turns his back and the spectator cuts into the stack of cards and takes one out. The spectator looks over the questions on the card and decides on one. The mentalist performs a preliminary test concerning the color of the mentally selected question. He then writes something on a piece of paper. (This is all done with the mentalist turned away from the spectator.) The spectator reads aloud his mentally selected question and the corresponding answer. The paper is opened. The mentalist has written the exact same answer. The cards are handed to another person who cuts and removes another card. He too chooses a question. This time the performer writes nothing down, he simply announces both the category and the answer to the mentally selected question.

Mark performed this for me, and he fooled me with it. I have glossed over a few small details in the above description (for the sake of secrecy), but what I have written above is exactly what the spectators are going to remember. The procedure for choosing the cards is very fair, and the two spectators each get a different card. There is some memorization required of the performer, and while the method is not difficult I think it is geared for someone with intermediate experience in mentalism. (I should also mention that even if you guess the method, there is no way that you’re going to make this up for yourself.) If you’re looking for an offbeat and baffling mental effect, The One with the Trivial Pursuit Cards™ fits the bill.

(Michael Close – Magic Magazine, October 2001)
Text Source: michaelclose.com – click for details

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