Card to Wishing Box
Zingg markets his Tibetan Wishing Box separately, but you don’t need his actual box to perform the DVD’s main trick. Zingg’s wishing box is a small, exotic wooden box that Zingg uses for mentalism and other effects, and his techniques will apply to other similar boxes. He briefly mentions where you can purchase a similar box.The first effect, The Tibetan Wishing Box, is Zingg’s strong card to box. A spectator selects a card and the deck is closed. The card is then shown to have vanished from the deck and is found folded, inside the wishing box, which has been sitting on the table the entire time. A nice thing about Zingg’s routine is that the box can seemingly be shown empty at the start of the trick.
For this trick, Zingg offers an easy, effective and clean card force and teaches a method to cleanly display the deck afterwards to show that the selected card has vanished. It’s very convincing. Because of its structure, the effect is pretty much stand alone, but it’s ending can be adapted to “Ambitious Card.”
Egyptian Ball Mysteries
Zingg follows the The Tibetan Wishing Box with Egyptian Ball Mysteries, two routines where billiard balls switch positions between your hands and a bowl that’s sitting on a table. In the second routine, Zingg employs and teaches a stunning Roy Benson color change. The billiard ball effects are very short, and probably best suited to stand-up performing.Based on the DVD’s cover, which shows the Tibetan Wishing Box and a couple of billiard balls, I expected that the balls would somehow be produced from the wishing box, ala bowling ball from briefcase. For those who may purchase this DVD to learn Zingg’s great wishing box routines, I think the billiard ball effects are just too far removed.
Killer Prediction
A fourth effect, Premonition Too is a strong prediction routine with playing cards. You bring out a blue and red deck, bring out a card from one deck and lay it on the table face down to create a prediction card (the spectator doesn’t know the card’s identity). The spectator freely chooses a card from the second deck. You then show that the prediction card matches the spectator’s selected card.I like this effect, which is best suited for sit-down, close-up situations. However, it’s for experienced magicians who can handle the palming and top change. By the way, Zingg teaches some strong variations on these moves that lend to the effect.
There's More
The DVD comes with bonus effects. Superstition is a card transposition effect that reverses the positions of an ace and three. Returning to the Tibetan wishing box, Zingg offers two variations to perform a signed card from box.The first version allows you to show a card in the box and later pull it out to show that it is the spectator’s signed card (Zingg doesn’t rely on the usual shuttle pass to accomplish this). The second version makes the signed card appear in the box that was previously shown empty. I definitely like Zingg’s methods.
Finally, Zingg admits that the billiard routines are short and describes a routine from another performer that can be used in conjunction with his “Egyptian Ball Mysteries.” Since Zingg did not obtain permission to publish the routine, he only describes the routine and how it may be used.
Because “Tibetan Wishing Box” was in the title, I found this DVD to be a rather mixed bag, even though it features some great card tricks. As usual, Zingg offers excellent insights, technique and instructions, but I felt that the billiard ball routines were too far removed from the close-up card tricks and mentalism.
But you may still want to purchase this DVD if you want some new angles on card to box effects.
-Wayne N. Kawamoto
MSRP: (US) $35
Dealers can purchase from Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc.
