I bought this when it was first released elsewhere. It's a great effect in terms of spectator engagement and reaction, and you can find plenty of performance videos on YouTube. That said, I was very surprised at what was actually in the box for the price.

I've learned to judge an effect by its, well, effect on the audience and not by the inherent cost of the physical products provided. It's also important to remember that you're paying for the creator's ideas and the production of the video and other materials. But in this case Tom had already published the effect in a book of dozens of other effects (www.penguinmagic.com/p/6974) for less than the cost of this product, so it's hard to argue that most of the price is going towards the idea.

The gimmick is difficult to find but only costs a few dollars once you find it, so the price isn't really for the gimmick, either. And even with the gimmick, the method is somewhat bold and relies on your spectator management as much as the physical gimmick.

That leaves us with six ungimmicked plastic cards and a purpose-built holder to display them. The holder is perfect for the job, but in the end it's some plastic. Perhaps the high price is for a limited production run of the specialty holder. For $65, they could have included a dice cup ($3.85 at www.penguinmagic.com/p/S4776), especially since some cups are more helpful than others. There's certainly enough room in the box, which is quite nice but mostly empty space.

If you don't already have the book and you'll have occasion to perform this effect regularly, this is a great product. Otherwise, it's a little pricey for what it is.

Fantastic effect. One of the best openers of all time. Unfortunately, the quality and packaging of this version are an epic failure. The cards arrived bent/warped and it’s taken days of effort to get them even remotely flat. My package arrived without the dice. The plastic holder is cheap and, while passable, could have and should have been designed/made much better. Given the quality, this is way overpriced. Buy Tom’s book and make your own.

I ordered mine directly from Vanishing Inc. but was very disappointed as were others. The cards were bent (to save money on shipping) when they were crammed into the thin box, so they will never straighten out. I've been trying to flatten them out for nearly a month now and it's not working. I love the effect, but won't buy anything from Vanishing Inc. again because of the cheap attempt to save on shipping (which is ridiculous because the cards would have cost maybe $1 to ship!

This is a terrific opening routine for a parlor act. if you’re looking for an opening that will engage the audience and create some humor at the same time don’t look any further. I actually own two sets, one for each of my locations. My highest recommendation!

Possibly three stars is a bit rough! The act is brilliant and funny! My biggest argument is the plastic numbers that are sent to you rolled up so it typed there are directions on how to flatten them! Why send it this way? I have gone through the flattening process of the six numbers and they are still not flat. The act is funny and really is a crowdpleaser! I even like the die! But when you have to explain how to flatten numbers on plastic because you could not invest in a nicer shipping box it is kind of a bummer. Brilliant magic, poorly packaged.

When I first saw this performed, I immediately wanted to do it. Great idea by Tom Stone. For this price, a dice cup should’ve been included. I also agree with David Penn during the Wizard Product Review about the issues with what comes in the box. It takes some time to fiddle with what’s in there and break it in so its not so difficult to assemble and disassemble.
Overall, thanks, Tom for releasing this. I love having it in my show.