Counterintuitive by Patrick Redford

Counterintuitive showcases your ability to count objects at impossible speeds! It expands on the work of Tomoyuki Shimomura and Sebastian Clergue with permission from Richard Kaufman & Sebastian Clergue.

A packet of double-sided game cards from the game Cafe Counter are introduced that display a messy counter of cafe cups. Every side of every card depicts a different collection of beverages and treats that include tea cups, coffee mugs, water glasses, to-go cups, cakes, spoons, and coffee beans splattered randomly about.

The performer asks that the cards be mixed and one be held up. With a mere glance, the performer correctly counts and names the total number of cups and glasses on the card. As an aside the performer also correctly states how many of those cups are filled with coffee and how many of them are orders “to-go.”

Next, the performer attempts to do this with two cards and again successfully and quickly counts the total number with a mere glance. Now, more of the cards are used and randomized to the same success, but this time the performer not only counts the total number of cafe cups but also identifies the finer details about the total collection. This can include the number of water glasses, the number of teacups, the number of spoons, number of coffee mugs, number of to-go cups and even the total number of cakes!

To finish, the participant randomizes a final set of cards and counts the cups that are showing in secret and hides the faces of all of the cards from view. The total only exists in the participant's mind...and the performer successfully pulls this final count out of the participant's mind to a successful conclusion!

You’ll receive specially made cards to perform the illusion and both written and video instructions.