Sudoku by Scott Creasey
There are a few sharp divides amongst mentalists when it comes to some performance pieces. One is, why should a book be used in order to have a spectator think of a word? The answer, of course, is obvious. Well, a couple of thinkers out there tried to justify the use of a book for reference instead of just obtaining a word. This philosophy brought about a genre of books tests that are visually different than the traditional book test. There are some that look like travel guides, street maps, crosswords and other game type books.
Sudoku by Scott Creasey fits into this new “style” of book test. Looking like an ordinary puzzle book you would pick up at a pharmacy or grocery store, it allows the performer the opportunity to do almost a half hour (depending on performance style) with this one book alone. Not that it is recommended you do all of that with the single book but the options are there. Nestled between the front and back cover are 56 crossword pages and 56 Sudoku pages. In addition to the puzzle pages, there are four pages with forces and brain teasers. This was well thought out.
Like all effects, there are some pluses and minuses. On the plus side, there are a lot of pages which appear all different. The layout is very good and the spectator can pick any page. The layout is such that there is always a crossword on the left (spectator’s view) and the Sudoku puzzle on the right. They can choose either one to start with. The book can be passed to another spectator and the revelations will be different. There is enough variation amongst the pages that repetitive performances shouldn’t be a problem. The book is of high quality and should last years.
The extensiveness of the revelations as refreshing as it poses a little bit of a dilemma. There are more than 43 words to remember with no real mnemonic system offered. In addition, there are the Sudoku revelations as well. To do this well, there is a lot to remember. They offer a crib on the back cover but that is basically useless if the spectator is holding the book. It would have been nice to have a second copy with a different cover so the spectator can be offered a selection of two books, both with cribs on them. I always felt that some memory work wouldn’t hurt and the performance seems “more real” if I can recall the words without having to use a crib, but some people prefer using cribs.
Sudoku is not very expensive for what you get. The book is well made and the instructions are fairly well written. For what some book tests cost, it’s a fraction of the more expensive “wordy” book test and it is well worth carrying it around without the worry of losing a very expensive prop.
To see a trailer on Sudoku click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBgbCgq1Tuw