You're Doing AmazeBox Wrong

Many props allow audiences to write information onto cards and pop them into a box/basket/bag, only to get secretly switched out for pre-written cards. AmazeBox is one of the latest of these products, with great success due to its reliability and ability to pack flat. These switching devices tend to force outcomes or gather information from the audience.

There are incredible ways to utilize these props.

99% of magicians are so unbelievably lazy.

They’ll use these props to force something silly, like a color or a playing card. There will be no motivator for the audience, and the outcome will be too impossible. Their use of the prop will ultimately make the process feel redundant.

Why go to all this effort to force something meaningless?

It feels over the top.

It feels forced.

You need to take a step back and look at the overall presentation. Figure out why you’re using one of these props, and consider the impossibility and motivators.

Once you've done that, zoom in on the subtleties.

There are eight tried and tested subtleties to enhance these props. They’re all utilized by big-name mentalists on stage around the world.

• Use Multiple Colors to force multiple words by handing out red, yellow and blue cards to the audience. You can later ask a spectator on stage to select one of each color from the box.
• Use The Submitted Cards to reveal additional information. Most magicians never use the genuine submitted cards. Why not take the box prop off stage and go through the actual answers for another trick?
• Use Dual Questions to collect additional information. With instructions on each card requesting the audience write a famous song, some cards might also secretly ask for their name, home city, and job role. This dual reality allows for additional information to be collected without the majority of the audience knowing.
• Use UV Inks to connect each card to the correct audience member. You can write seating numbers, people’s names, or descriptions of them onto the cards you hand out to the audience. After you secretly switch and collect them, use a UV light to connect each submitted writing to the audience member.