Has anyone ever done a mentalism presentation using the board game clue (cluedo in UK)?

The idea came to me while on the crapper the other day (a place I imagine all great ideas are formed). Ok so you need three or more specs and a copy of the game or a travel version of the game for walk around....

one spec picks a killer (and maybe writes down a one word motive such as revenge, money, sex etc)
one picks a weapon
one picks a room (ideally free choices but since there are cards provided with the game for this I'm sure there's a way to get a peek.)

the players then pick a character and place them in a room on the board. The dice are thrown once.

ok so the mentalist begins with a story setting the scene of the grizzly murder and the potential suspects.
So the next phase could be a kind of forensics interview where the spectators all have to lie about what they know about the murder but I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to involve them in the proceedings.

So the mentalist successfully reveals the killer (and motive), weapon and room
then as a kicker he also shows predictions of which character each spectator would pick and which room they'd be placed in.

Finally the time of death is revealed to match the number on the thrown dice (perhaps a face down watch is in view all the time for this or a prediction envelope)

anyway I haven't decided how I'll do all this yet but I'd like to hear some thoughts.

I think that sounds like an awsome Idea. The first thing that jumped to mind was as a prediction effect. That isn't exactly what you are wanting, I think, but it might get you a start performing it and you can add better methodology later...as you work with the routine.

I thought I had recently seen a marketed effect with such a theme. Maybe from Alakazam Magic.

Prosecution - Andy Nyman (he released an effect on his international lecture with a similar theme) but it didn't involve a board. Very good idea if you can make it unique.

Andy invited several volunteers onto the stage one of them was 'murdered' (not literally) one was the murderer that used a certain weapon and where it took place. (if i remember correctly)

Enter Derren brown (cameo appearance) he was out of the room the whole time, he comes in and determines who was the murderer, who was killed, how the death took place and finally the weapon.

The idea with the board Iv'e never heard of, there is a multitude of ways it can be achieved (for an added punch) use an add number effect where for example three volunteers write three random five digits down and when totaled they equal the date the murder occured .

Witness for the Prosecution - Andy Nyman*

Murder Mystery - Christopher Thronebury
This was an ebook originally brought out through Michael Paul that I bought some time ago. It was really great. Sort of designed for parlour/stand up but could definately work in a close-up setting as well.
Basically, three volunteers are invited to play a game of clue. One thinks of a weapon (from the game), one thinks of a room (from the game) and the last spectator thinks of a victim - this last one doesn't have to be from the game; it can be absolutely anyone (usually a celeb is named in the end). Then, one by one, the performer names each spectators thought - finishing on the naming of the person (literally a 1 in 6 billion chance).
Its a pretty cool plot. The trick used an old Annemann principle with a couple of updated things including one little method that is absolutely genius to gain the knowledge of which room the spectator is thinking of (this little bit is worth the price of the whole thing). I'm not sure if it is still for sale...you might be able to find it somewhere.

Clipped from the Cafe;

Murder Mystery - Christopher Thronebury

Effect:
Three audience members are invited to take part in the popular game of Clue. One chooses a location, the other a weapon and the last a murderer. Under increasingly impossible conditions, the performer reads the mind of each of the spectators, ending with a mind-numbing finale that is sure to get you thunderous rounds of applause!

Features:
• No forces involved
• No sleights required
• Can be performed close up and on stage
• Can be performed fully surrounded
• Completely scripted
• Completely audience tested through hundreds of performances
• No “special” materials needed
• Uses common materials that can be found in any office supply store

My opinion:

At first glance I was a little disappointed when I opened the PDF. Only six pages for 20 bucks seemed to be too few for the money. No pictures, no fancy layout, just plain text. Hm….

But then I started reading and was thrilled both by the effect and the method. Basically Christopher uses an old idea by Ted Annemann and combined it with a second method and finally added a clever scripting that grants a great impact on any audience.

What is so great about it is that the revelations of the thoughts get more and more impossible while at the same time cancelling out all the possible solutions you might think of when seeing the trick performed. I should have read my Annemann more intensely. Lucky me, Christopher did it for me and added some great twists to make this a real winner.

All you need are some pay envelops, your own business cards, pens and a pad of paper. Nothing is gimmicked in any way. You can even do this impromptu! And what is even more important: There are no slights or fumbling involved so you can really concentrate on the performance which is the main goal when doing mentalism routines.

Overall:

10/10. There is nothing more to say!

The manuscript is available from Michael Paul’s http://www.theinvisiblethread.com for $20 as an instant download. Highly recommended.

Stefan Olschewski

Read Annemann's practical mental magic (which I will assume everyone on here has) save yourself the money the workings are in there and create your own.

Yes, the workings to the majority of the effect is in there, but the most devious method - a small part, but I see it as vital - is only in Thronebury's book.

Koola, how you getting on with the routine?

Thanks for all the input, love the date force idea there. I was thinking this would be a great opportunity to perform mentalism with a fedora hat on lol. I may take a look at this Murder Mystery book. Would it be wrong to ask roughly which part of PMM I should look in to find the basics of the method?

Well all the book is fantastic as a seed to any stunt (any part of the book you will be able to make a method from) once you browse through it, it should stand out like a sore thumb to you if you still have trouble finding what you are looking for post back here.

fair enough I'll dig it out tomorrow.

Also on a slightly unrelated and totally awesome note I just bought an ebook for Teddy Anneman's mental masterpiece for like $4.00 and my god that is just GENIUS. I mean seriously I am going to use that one SOOO much. Also I now know how to split cards.. funny the things you find when you're not looking.

It would be wrong right up to the fourth dimension, Al. Tell pathytic posters, why you would need to know that.


I don't know what 'Koola' lol but the routine is one that I don't work regularly anymore. I did it a bit a couple of years ago and it works quite well. All this talking about it has made me think of digging it up again. Basically, Thronebury removed the need of a force from 4dt making it incredibly smoother, then built a climactic presentation around it.

I wanna say it is in Envelope Necromancy...Seems like I just skipped past it the other day...I'll look tonight as well.

Also, read the description for Andy Neiman's "Dead Zone Pro." Not saying you should drop $1400 on the effect(Unless you have a crap load of cash and are really into electronic gadgetry) But I think It might give you an idea for at least one phase of the effect.

Thinking out loud here but you may be able to structure a whole 30-45 minute act out of this. That way you could really focuss on each phase of the effect, Finding the room, the time, the weapon, and the culprit.