"Phuzion" by Andrew Scott
Suggested Retail USD$17.50
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 8 Out of 10

"Phuzion", a card-to-impossible-location effect by Andrew Scott, is a wildly different and strikingly magical take on the classic "card-to-box" that leaves spectators nice and shocky and gasping for air. In other words, this ain't your usual "card-to-box" at all.

The simplest take on this is easy to describe. A deck of cards is removed from the box and shuffled. A spectator selects and signs a card then it's lost back in the deck. Stating that you're going to make the card vanish and appear in the card box, the empty box is given to a spectator for safekeeping. A magical gesture later and the spectator goes through the deck but cannot find their card. You pick up the card box, open it, and find it empty. Yeah, I know: "Oops". You mention that the back of the box looks like the back of card and then slowly, carefully, you begin peeling the printed design from the box. That side of the box is now white and the piece you tore off? Turning it around, you show that is the signed card.

"Card-to-box"? More like "card-inside-and-I-mean-really-inside-the-box". It's strange, it's bizarre, it's completely unexpected, and it plays huge. All of that makes for a great piece of magic and, well, that's what "Phuzion" is.

On to the specifics.

There are a few sleights in evidence here, but nothing you won't find in pretty much any card book; it's all basic stuff. Reset is easy enough -- you don't need to trot off to the bathroom as you do the work -- and repeating it with different cards is certainly possible if you can manage your performances so that it doesn't appear you're ripping up a dozen card boxes a night. While you can have a spectator hold onto things as you go, "Phuzion" really works best with a table and in more formal venues. All in all, it's a nice, practical, easy effect.

This is pretty much a DVD with supplied gimmicks as opposed to a store-bought trick, so you're in for some construction work here to get things ready to go. The arts-and-crafts of this is very simple and you can make up a pocketful of the necessary gaffs in a few minutes. If someone as "craft-challenged" as I am can say that, then you know you're in for an easy time of it here.

You should know, though, that you're supplied with some of the "special somethings" to get you going, but you'll burn through the supply fairly quickly: you use one each performance. That means purchasing replacements, but they are very cheap and available from dealers. If you don't want to go that route, you can probably make them up yourself with your computer and printer. Either way, replenishing your supply is something that will need to be done but is cheap and easy.

As to the DVD, the home of all the documentation, it's a typical Alakazam product: the instructions are clear, thorough, and packed with alternate handlings and presentational ideas. The big thing here is the four-phase monster routine, with the card teleporting all over the place before "Phuzion" hits as the climax. One look at that routine and you'll be hooked; it's by far the best way of performing "Phuzion".

"Phuzion" is very slick stuff that drops jaws. With an easy working, a powerful climax, and a cheap price tag, this one will make even the most jaded card-worker think twice about the "impossible location" plot. This one, folks, is what we call a keeper.

"Phuzion" by Andrew Scott
In a Blink: 8 Out of 10

Practicality: 8
You'll need a table for this one and, really, this is one best used for more formal situations. You'll also give away some pocket space. And those are the only drawbacks to this one. You'll have no problem with a simple reset and repeating it in strolling venues is a breeze. All in all, this is a very practical piece of business.

Workmanship: 5
This is more a DVD with supplies props than a trick; the main part of this is included, enough for a handful of performances, and it's done well enough. You'll be buying extras soon (luckily, they are cheap) as you'll use one of the "special somethings" every performance.

Documentation: 10
The documentation, on DVD, is very thorough and filled with enough ideas to not only get you going but keep you going with additional presentational pieces. The highlight here is the four-phase monster routine that is simply stellar.

Effect: 10
Don't you just love it when spectators either are stunned silent or let loose with a string of profanities? Those are pretty much the two reactions you'll get from this one: it's strong, strong stuff.

Presentation: 10
Yep, it's yet another "card to impossible location" and the presentation here, the visual impossibility of it, makes this anything but just another take on the plot.

Shane

Available direct from your favorite dealer. Dealers, please contact Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc. toll-free at 1-800-853-7403 or visit Murphy's Magic Supplies website.