Lybrary.com: ebooks and download videos
Home / Magic & Conjuring / Kids & Children

Puzzle Mania
by Devin Knight


#1 Comedy Magic author
$7

(1 review, 4 customer ratings) ★★★★★

PDF | by download [0.64 MByte]  
Puzzle Mania by Devin Knight

A brilliant routine which is perfect for children's shows. Both the magician and then the birthday child, manage to correctly guess which pieces have been removed from a completed tray puzzle.

Puzzle Mania is a new twist on the standard jigsaw puzzle effect. This version has been designed especially for kid shows. Yes, it is mind reading for kids and has been a proven winner in hundreds of kid shows. Every phase is logical and makes perfect sense. You can easily make this up using kid tray puzzles available in most all toy stores. This effect has previously only been shared in Devin's lectures, but now the information is being made available to everyone.

This is not the standard jigsaw puzzle effect, but one that has a new twist to the plot, and two climaxes. That is right, you do the effect twice, two different ways, and make the child the star of the show at the end!

Here are the effects. The performer shows two duplicate tray puzzles. One is left completely assembled and all the pieces from the duplicate puzzle are dropped into a clear bag. The performer says he will play two guessing games with the kid. He tells the kid to reach into the bag, remove a puzzle piece and hide it behind his back. The performer does not watch while this kid is doing this! Once the kid has done so, he tells the performer. The performer puts the bag on the table so all the faces of the puzzle pieces are hidden, saying he does not want anyone to think he can see what piece is missing.

The performer says he will try to guess what piece the kid has hidden behind his back. The performer picks up the fully assembled puzzle and looks it over. Suddenly, he removes a piece from the puzzle and puts it on the table. He says he thinks this is the piece that the kid has behind his back. He asks the kid to bring the piece behind his back forward and see if it fits into the puzzle. It does! The puzzle is complete again. The performer has correctly guessed the piece the kid removed. This is the first climax.

Performer then asks the kid if he thinks he can do the same thing. If he can, he will win a prize. The performer then turns the completed puzzle around and secretly removes one piece from the puzzle. He props the puzzle up on the table so only the back of the puzzle board shows. This way no one will know what piece is missing.

The performer drops the piece he removed into the clear bag with the other pieces and mixes all the pieces up. He tells the kid that he has one chance to win. All he has to do is reach into the bag and remove one puzzle piece. If he removes the piece the performer removed from the other puzzle, then he wins a prize.

The kid reaches into the bag and removes one piece. The performer turns around the puzzle showing one piece is missing. The piece the kid removes fits perfectly and he wins a prize.

The prize can be a candy bar or even the puzzle itself. This is a very baffling ending and when the child finds the piece you removed, it makes him the star of the show. The perfect effect for the birthday child. This routine has been tested in hundreds of kid shows and leaves the parents shaking their heads in disbelief. Such a thing does not seem possible!

This is great for theme shows as you buy a puzzle with the theme of the show. For example, if you want a new trick for your Christmas shows, then buy a puzzle with a Christmas theme. Customizing theme shows has never been easier. This makes the perfect effect for any kid theme show. The directions also show you how to make this effect up for adult shows too.

Easy to make up using puzzles available from your local toy stores. There are no sleights and the puzzle pieces are not switched. PDF comes with full directions and photos on how to make this up at home.

"I used Puzzle Mania in a show for a girl who turned 10. There were approximately 40 adults and 30 kids there to and I have to say Puzzle Mania was a huge hit! The kids facial expressions where DISBELIEF! The adults where all looking at each other scratching their heads and at after the 2nd climax the applause erupted! I definitely will be incorporating Puzzle Mania into my shows when I can!" - Bob Kolwaski

1st edition 2013, 15 pages.
word count: 3557 which is equivalent to 14 standard pages of text



Reviewed by Joe Libby
★★★★★   Date Added: Thursday 06 June, 2024

This is one of those rare mentalism effects that is suitable for kids and for adults. Devin used to sell this effect through magic dealers, but in this ebook he explains how to easily make it up yourself. I recommend checking sites such as Temu or AliExpress for the appropriate puzzles, since those should be more cost effective than retail sites such as Amazon. You'll also need a clear force bag, which is available from many magic dealers. There are a lot of jigsaw puzzle effects available right now, and Puzzle Mania is a strong addition to that category.