"Chinese Choice" by John Archer
Suggested Retail USD$40.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 6 Out of 10

"Chinese Choice", the latest from the ever-talented John Archer, is a weird little piece that, in the end become mental magic wrapped in a strange presentation (to say the least) with too many negatives going against it.

I'll cut to the chase here: "Chinese Choice" was a let-down after some of the stellar work Archer has released in the past. The premise is just too much of a reach and the practicality of doing this one in close-up or strolling venues is hindered.

First thing's first: the premise. Evidently, you see, the ancient Chinese were math wizards who believed in numerology so they used numbers to help them make choices, which is why items on a Chinese menu are numbered (if you're shaking your head there, you see the problem right off the bat). So you, the performer, are going to show how the ancient Chinese decided on what to do when they went out for dinner.

Oy.

Well, anyway, now that we've gotten that far, might as well continue on...

So three spectators are used as volunteers. One is given a packet of number cards to shuffle. Now they choose who will be in charge of the menu while the other two are in charge of setting the amount they will pay for the meal. Each spectator is given three of the number cards and two of them take turns using them to create three two-digit numbers. When these numbers are added together and a decimal point thrown in for good measure, it forms a price of $1.65. The third spectator now adds the three cards together, coming up with yet another number to represent a dish on the menu, 15. When they look at the menu, they see item 15 is an "all you can eat buffet for three people" for $1.65.

And that, in a nutshell, is "Chinese Choice".

As you can tell, I'm not impressed.

I don't like the premise, no matter how "comedic" it's supposed to be. I don't like all the mathematics, even if they are moderately well hidden. I don't like that this can't be repeated with different results. I don't like the "authentic appearing" menus with ludicrous pricing on them.

There's a lot I don't like here, in other words.

But it doesn't make "Chinese Choice" awful, just much weaker than some of Archer's other offerings and an average piece of magic. It stretches credulity too much too quickly to be much more than a magical gag. Still, Archer's working is neat, at least to the point of making this one of interest to those looking for a piece of comedy mental-magic. If that's what you're looking for, "Chinese Choice" is good enough.

But if you're looking for something more then you can safely pass this one up and not lose too much sleep over it.

"Chinese Choice" by John Archer
In a Blink: 6 Out of 10

Practicality: 6
It packs reasonably small if you're doing the close-up version, with a slight set-up and a quick reset. You'll have to watch yourself if you're planning on repeating this one for obvious reasons.

Workmanship: 7
The menus look great and the cards will last you a while, but it would have been better if you had multiple options for the prediction and a more realistic value.

Documentation: 5
It's what you would expect, done as you'd expect.

Effect: 6
This won't make your reputation, but for a light piece of magic, it'll garner the odd laugh and chuckle if not total astonishment.

Presentation: 5
The presentation is okay if just plain weird. You might want to do something with it before taking it out and about.

Shane

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