The Look

This is now the 4th Generation of the Karnival Deck – which all feature the striking artwork of Sam Hayles.

The trademark skeleton, who first obtained ‘gangster’ clothes in the ‘Assassin’ editions, has now been given some new weapons – a knife and a bomb on the Jokers, and a cleaver and an axe on the Ace of Spades.

The Details

The pack comes complete with the ‘usual’ extra card which has a reveal (6C) on one side.  There is also a reveal on one of the Jokers (who has a 4S in his hat) and an extra double backed card which is useful for many routines.  There is no barcode reveal on the tuck case as we have seen in all the earlier editions.

Like the previous designs, this one incorporates a subtle 1-way feature in the back design.  I think this is an under-used device in magic – it is often discounted because it is found in so many elementary magic books, but with the right handling can be a powerful tool.

The Handling

The cards are printed on the usual USPCC  ‘Air Flow Finish’ stock and handle extremely well straight out of the pack.  If you are used to Bicycle Cards there will be no surprises here.  Like all packs they benefit from a little ‘breaking in’ and they won’t last forever, but they perform well and are ideal for all the usual moves and routines.

The Verdict

As usual, the appeal of these cards will depend on the kind of magic you do.  Now we have Assasins and Renegades there are effectively a red-backed and a blue-backed Karnival deck – and I can see all sorts of interesting effects involving colour-changes and the 4 different packs.  I wouldn’t use them for children’s magic or the vicar’s tea party, but for the right audience they will go down well.

And if you’re just one of those people that loves collecting playing cards, you’ll have to have one of these limited edition packs.  So get right on over to BBM and order yours now!

I have a confession to make. Though I love Bicycle Card Magic, I am not much into XCM (extreme card magic). However, I know many of you are, and this classic DVD has all the card flourishes you could want, and is currently HALF PRICE at only £11.49.

This factory produced Rainbow Deck in Bicycle cards comes with some special gaff cards and an instructional DVD for £21.99

In my continuing quest (crusade sounds too grand) to encourage people to read good magic books, I want to mention this gem by one of our home grown talents, Guy Hollingworth. This is a beautiful book in every way – well-written, well-illustrated, and with some amazing card magic within its pages. I’ve had the privilege of seeing Guy perform some of this stuff and it really is brilliant. £26.99

Some years ago, he published Card College Light where the emphasis is on subtlety and presentation and hardly any sleight of hand is required. These, he suggests, are good routines to develop performing confidence, without needing to worry about the technical aspect of our art.

This first volume was followed up by Card College Lighter, and the final volume of the trilogy is now available in the UK.

Card College Lightest is available now for only £24.99. Another 18 routines taught in the same clear style as the previous two books – this comes highly recommended.

This is the second installment of Bicycle’s Limited Edition series featuring a dark blue background with white and silver design. The joker was specially designed for this deck. The card faces are standard index, the same courts and fonts seen for years on Bicycle decks. They also have the 125th anniversary edition cards in stock. See Cards4Magic.

Just enter the code: ‘blackpool2010′ at the checkout to get your 15% off.

A fitting way to celebrate 125 years of Bicycle Cards, the USPCC have released these Anniversary edition cards. They feature a distinctive Vintage aesthetic with a signature metallic foil face on the special edition tuck case.

The deck is sealed with a commemorative 125 years deck seal and features 2 jokers, one from 1885 and one from 2010. Each playing card is marked with 1885-2010 on its face.

I suspect they will become collectible. Now available at MagicNevin for only £4.99.

Whilst we’re on the subject of bargains, Alakazam are having a DVD Sale with some amazing discounts on all sorts of Card Magic and other magic DVDs. Well worth a look.