Fair Play – Steve Haynes

Product description : Most of us know the trick « Free Will », it's a very cool mentalism routine where a prediction has been on the table since the beginning, 3 chips are introduced with different symbols on it, one goes in the pocket, one for the magician and one for the spectator. And the prediction matches ! Now for Fair Play, it's the same trick, with 3 objects (coin, bill and card) and the prediction is actually a key fob. The big difference here with Free Will is that the spectator is completely free, he can put any object he wants wherever he wants and he can even change his mind ! And the key fob makes it a little bit more organic.

Price and where to buy it : This is sold at $39.95 and you can find it in nearly every Murphy's partner shop !

What you get : You get a big DVD case with inside the Dvd which is very well shot and everything you need to know about the gimmick is taught. You are also supplied with a sheet of paper with an easy way to reset it. Now comes the gimmick, it is very well protected, you get a large plastic box, inside, wrapped in bubble papper and inside a little plastic « case », there is no way it could be damaged during transport. Here comes a bold statement, this is the most ingenious gimmick I ever saw. It does work very well and looks like you could have bought it from the shop. I don't even know how they could make such an object, I love gimmicks and this one is by far my most favorite in terms of working, it's so clever ! I was very very surprised by the quality of the whole thing.

Teaser : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBV7JuSGiqI

The pros and the cons : Here is the core of my review, let's begin with the cons, as I will usually be doing, I prefer to keep the good things for the end.

THE CONS :
- The writting may be too small and it's quite hard to read for some people. The plastic in which the fob is made is not clear so this adds a little bit of difficulty when it comes to the reading of the prediction.
- You wouldn't do this routine twice to the same people since the scenario may not be the same the second time.

THE PROS :
- As I said, this gimmick is well worth the $40 by itself, I can't even imagine how much work has been put into this. I wish I could open it to see how it works because I don't have any clue right now.
- Compared to Free Will, here there are no force at all. And this is even better because you can really play on the fact you influenced them, asking them if they want to change their mind.
- It's quite organic, it's a key fob and nobody would suspect anything about it since it can be handed out. That's the beauty of this thing, it's completely innocent.
- The objects are borrowed which, in my opinion, makes the spectator emotionally engaged into the routine. The fact it's written « Card » also helps because it can be a credit card, a business card, a playing card and so on so you're not limited to particular type of card.
- The can keep the prediction at the beginning, I would not let them remove it, unless you are a master at spectator management but this is well covered by the routine so you don't have to be worried about it.

Overall rating : I love this trick ! It gets huge reactions and the gimmick is amazingly clever, I'm very happy with it and I will definately use it on a daily basis ! 4/4 hearts with a big recommandation.

As for the difficulty level, it's almost automatic, 1/5 stars.

Similar products : Free Will is the main routine which comes to my mind but I really think Fair Play does add something to the plot and I'm so glad they put it out !

Thanks to Murphys Magic for sending me this product !

Are you a Murphy's Magic Pitch man? It sure sounds like it.

Nope but they do send me products to look at.

Unfortunately, I don't have unlimited money to buy as many products as I'd like to review.

But be sure to check my others reviews, I do say when a product it's bad

Thanks, Alex, I see that and certainly appreciate your reviews - and most of the time I think you are spot on. Jan

20 pages of discussion: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=218

Terry

I bought Fair Play back at the start of the current year. I learned how to do the trick and put it away for later use.

I took it out today for an upcoming presentation and it won't reset back to "card" on top as instructed in the DVD. All lines rotate, but "card" will not go to the top.

I followed the instructions (on the DVD) about "tapping" the device, but no luck.

Has anyone had this problem? Suggestions?

Abbylane,
Sent you a pm..

Steve, sent you a PM. THANKS,