Puzzle Paradox

THE BLURB:
The Mentalist shows two 11x14 inch jigsaw puzzles; one is
fully assembled and displayed in a frame: the other is still
boxed. He quips, "One of the reasons jigsaw puzzles are -
well, puzzling - is that they often use a picture that
provides one set of patterns, cut into completely random
shapes formed by yet another pattern. Most folks solve such
puzzles through a process of elimination: they assemble the
straight edged, outside pieces into a "frame" and then work
their way toward the middle. Some puzzle addicts find it
more challenging to assemble the puzzle face down."

The performer shakes the pieces inside the box. then opens
it for everyone to see the assortment of pieces inside.
"Each of you take one piece, please," he offers to three
nearby participants, "and do your best to memorize its
unique shape."

Taking another piece from the box and handing it to the
first participant for comparison, the performer instructs.
"Cup them in your hands and mix them. It will still be
simple to pick out your piece because there are but two
choices." He retrieves them from the helper and tosses them
back into the box.

Approaching the next person, the mentalist withdraws three
or four more pieces from the box and hands them to that
helper, saying. "Now you try it. It gets tougher with more
pieces, yes? Although I suppose with fewer than half a dozen
different shapes, it's still fairly easy." Those pieces are
also returned to the box.

For the third helper the performer says. "Toss your piece
back into the box." He gives the pieces a shake and holds
the lidless box for the participant to view the contents.
"Your challenge is more complex: with a 150 piece puzzle,
the odds against you finding your piece on the first try are
149 to 1."

"Unless." reminds the performer, "you have assembled that
puzzle so many times it's burned into memory, as I have with
this one." He places the lid on the box. hands it to helper
#3 and instructs, "Give the pieces a good shaking, please,
then lift the lid just enough to take just one hidden in
your hand. Avoid the right angle corner pieces - there are
only four of them. Find an inside piece with no straight
sides: there are more of those."

When the piece has been removed the performer sets the box
aside and says, "When I'm ready, hold up that piece, with
the back side toward me. as I count to three. Understood?
(Yes.) Go! One..two..three. Got it!"

The performer picks up the assembled puzzle, moves his
finger back and forth just above the surface as he views the
shapes, stops over one of them, pries it from the puzzle,
and says. "This is it. I'm positive."

"If just you compared the pieces," instructs the Meutalist.
"not everyone could see the result. Instead, try your piece
for fit where I made the hole." The selected puzzle piece
slips easily into place - a perfect match!

Here are the details that will drive you nuts: The puzzle
box and frame are totally ungimmicked. There are no
switches. Every piece taken is freely selected. When the
participants compare their pieces there is no question that
each is a truly different shape. You employ no sleights or
moves and no memorization is needed. Nothing else is used,
added, or taken away (ie: no plastic baggies, ugh!). You get
both custom made puzzles (one is fully assembled, ready to
slip in the frame and the other is in the box) plus complete
presentation instructions.

Puzzle Paradox is as clean as clean can be from the guys who
originated the concept.

MY COMMENTS:
Those familiar with Lee Earle's puzzle routine in Lee
Earle's Syzygy will notice that the presentation is quite
different. In Lee's original routine, the performer is
trying to find the one piece that will fit into the puzzle
and fill the empty space. In this routine, the performer is
trying to locate the one piece in the puzzle that matches a
piece randomly selected by a participant under challenge
conditions. This is a very different, unique take on the
mentalism puzzle plot. You can still use the original
premise with it and certainly locate that one piece that
fits in the puzzle's empty space.

What makes this great is that there is nothing extra. You
don't use any bags or sleights of any kind to work this.
It's just a completed puzzle and other pieces in the box. I
should note that, to some, the blurb may imply that because
everything is ungimmicked, the puzzle and its pieces can be
completely examined. That's not exactly so. What's given
to the participants can certainly be examined, but you can't
just hand them the whole puzzle box with the pieces and let
them examine it. However, if you follow the presentation
and instructions, this will not, and should not, ever be a
concern.

The puzzle itself is approximately 11" x 14". This is not a
large jigsaw puzzle, but it's large enough for most
audiences to see, yet small enough to fit in a catalog case
or something similar. One puzzle comes already completed
framed. The frame looks nice, but it is a cheap plastic
frame. If this is something you'll use, you can certainly
transfer the puzzle to a different frame. This is not
really a big issue as far as I'm concerned. What you're
buying are the puzzles themselves, which can be quite costly
to put together yourself. The package contains one puzzle
which has already been mounted, additional puzzle pieces,
the puzzle box, and one double-sided page of instructions.
If you're looking for a mental effect involving puzzles,
this is the one you should seriously consider.