How to be Psychic - a Mind Reading Card Trick

You can amaze your friends and family with your psychic abilities using this easy Mind Reading Card Trick

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 5 3x5 Index Cards
• Markers

1. 
    
   Mind Reading Card Trick

   Make your Mind Reading Card Trick cards. You can make them out of plain old index cards. If you are artistic, or know how to do art on the computer, you can really dress them up. Use odd materials like balsa wood, leather, parchment mounted on card stock. Decorate them, make them look funky, classic, or old and mystical. Here is what you need to put on each card...

2. 
    
   Mind Reading Card Trick Card 1

   MAKE CARD 1 - Make card 1 as shown in the image, using these numbers: Row1)1-9-17-25, Row2) 3-11-19-27, Row3) 5-13-21-29, Row4) 7-15-23-31

3. 
    
   Mind Reading Card Trick Card 2

   MAKE CARD 2 - Make card 2 as shown in the image, using these numbers: Row1) 2-10-18-26, Row2) 3-11-19-27, Row3) 6-14-22-30, Row4) 7-15-23-31

4. 
    
   Mind Reading Card Trick Card 3

   MAKE CARD 3 - Make card 3 as shown in the image, using these numbers: Row1) 4-12-20-28, Row2) 5-13-21-29, Row3) 6-14-22-30, Row4) 7-15-23-31

5. 
    
   Mind Reading Card Trick Card 4

   MAKE CARD 4 - Make card 4 as shown in the image, using these numbers: Row1) 16-20-24-28, Row2) 17-21-25-29, Row3) 18-22-26-30, Row4) 19-23-27-31

6. 
    
   Mind Reading Card Trick Card 5

   MAKE CARD 5 - Make card 5 as shown in the image, using these numbers: Row1) 8-12-24-28, Row2) 9-13-25-29, Row3) 10-14-26-30, Row4) 11-15-27-31

7. PLAY THE GAME - Make up a fun story about how you found these mystical cards in an attic (or something like that) and you discovered that they give you the ability to read minds. Lay the cards out in, any order, in front of your friend. Ask you friend to pick a number from 1 - 31, and don't tell you what it is. Now, ask your friend to point to every card in which their number appears. As soon as your friend is finished, you tell them what their number is!

8. KNOW THE TRICK - The first number in each card is your KEY NUMBER: 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16. As your friend points to the cards, mentally note the key number and add it to the next one they pick. Keep up the mental math as they pick out all the cards. When they finish, you will know the answer.

9. FOLLOW THIS EXAMPLE: Your friend points out all the cards, so the key numbers are 1+2+4+8+16= 31. Your friends number is 31. Your friend picks out the card with the key numbers 1+4+16= 21. Your friend's number is 21.

Tips & Warnings

• Great fun at parties
• So easy, even a child can learn to do it.
• NEVER tell your secret

[notimtolose]

on 9/25/2009 Nice description. Thanks for the trick!

[dlcass]

on 6/20/2009 Yes, 29 works. It is on cards 1, 3, 4 and 5 and the top left corner numbers all add up to 29.

[varsity1996]

on 6/20/2009 does 29 work! Maybe I have a mistake in my cards, but when i tried 29 it didn't work. If you can help, it would be greatly appreciated, thanks, Varsity1996!

[Gottaloveit]

on 4/22/2009 Now, if I could only add. Cool trick though.

[dlcass]

on 2/21/2009 Hi all, I had an error on one of the cards that I just corrected. Card 5 should have the number 28 in the upper right hand corner. I mistakenly had 48 there before. Sorry.