This effect is about the size of 10 or so Poker-sized playing cards, and it comes with it's own small plastic case to keep the cards in. Basically, you have a spectator choose a characteristic of an item from a list on one card (fuzzy, golden colored, child's toy, etc), then choose an item from a list on another card that they feel matches that characteristic. This is something that's subjective, as it's how the spectator feels the characteristic matches one of the items, and it's not necessarily something obvious. But in the end, the magician can easily tell the spectator what item they are thinking of, even though they never told him the characteristic or even the characteristic number they were thinking of.

You can perform this trick within five minutes of reading the instructions, as there are only about six things you have to memorize. After that, it's all presentation. You can perform this either one-on-one in a close up situation, or on stage with a spectator (or even two at the same time), and yet it packs so small you can carry with you at any time. While they say you can perform this over the phone, I wouldn't suggest it. The spectator will have to write down the lists you give them, and if they keep them and study them long enough, they'll discover the secret. However, someone casually doing this trick at normal speed will never figure it out.

The effect can be repeated for the same spectator six times without them thinking of the same items again, making this one of those rare effects that actually gets stronger with each repeat performance while still remaining impossible for the spectator to figure out. I have performed this close-up and in group settings and always find it plays big to the crowd, especially if you choose to draw the item they are thinking of rather than just say it out loud.

Some people might think it would be cool to actually have the item on hand and pull it out of a bag or something, but to me that just makes the trick go from a mind-reading effect to something different. The spectator will know they were fooled because you had to have the item ahead of time, rather than just going with the moment and drawing. But I guess that's all a matter of personal taste.

At any rate, if you're looking for a powerful, fun effect that takes little practice yet looks like real magic, you can't beat this for the price.

Penguin Magic is fantastic! fast shipping! I received Mental Yarn today...practiced for about 45 minutes..ran over to my neighbor...told him I was working on some new Mentalism acts...could I see how it worked on him? He said..sure...and about 3 minutes later..he was amazed!
Great price...neat effect...and, for beginners, a great way to get started...even those of us who have been doing magic for years enjoy this routine..Get it..have fun!

mental yarn is now in the magic market for more than 5 years. time tested stuff. read more about it on magic cafe. strongly recommended

Very good piece of mentalism! Simple, direct, and virtually fool-proof. Like reaching into someone's mind and divining a thought-of word or object. Not only that, but it's cheap!! Well worth the investment and better than some mentalism effects that are more expensive-

When I first got this trick, I didn't like it at all. I put it away without ever trying it on anyone. A few weeks ago, I was digging around and came across it again. I decided to try it out, and I was shocked at the results. People were utterly amazed. If you are into mentalism, then definitely don't pass this up.

I like it but its not foolproof. I have had it fail a few times and its because (as someone previously stated) of the human factor. When it works, its phenomenal and I have yet to have someone figure it out.

Like it a lot. Even though I must say it's not 100 percent bullet-proof, reason for this is the "human factor". I guess 99 percent of the times it should work, but the person I showed it to managed to give me the "wrong" answer anyway, and it wasn't my fault. For those who own it, it went like this: cat's toy got "shining silver" as a result, because my friend was imagining a balled up sheet of aluminium-foil, which her cat's like to play with. How high is the chance of this happening? Very low. But imagine this happens to some performer on TV, meeting the only cats preferring aluminum balls over what a EVERY decent cat typically plays with.

Also the instructions are not really clear how this can be performed on the phone. Maybe it can be done, but then might as well explain how, because obviously things will either get a bit confusing or obvious.

Its a good mentalism trick. The price is good.

Let me just tell you this. I did this trick on stage at my talentshow and got it on almost everybody. I had the whole crowd screaming. ADD TO CART...

I highly recommend this effect. Once you recieve it you can also adapt this effect to parlor or stage venues. No memory work involved. First time I seen it, It fooled the pants off of me. Not easy to do concidering I've been performing magic for 30+ years. Do yourself a favor BUY THIS.