Nique Tan Chats - IceBreaker by Francis Girola

[@121mentalist]

Your routine suggestion will sell this effect. Girola owes you big time... :)

[@niquetan]

Haha; he does describe something similar in the pdf, but yeah it’s really the logical way to use the prop. 👍🏻

[@mentalistonashoestring]

Awesome review as always, I love your chatty and upbeat style. The effects look very good.

[@niquetan]

Thank you for the support Gareth.

[@AntonioGee]

Nique! I know you're a busy man, an actual working magician but thats why I love hearing your thoughts not just on products but on experiences you've had. So I hope you can start doing more videos just on your experience as a pro, advice etc, doesn't need to be a review your the reason why were all here.

[@niquetan]

Is there a particular topic you’d like to hear about?

[@AntonioGee]

​@@niquetan as cheesy as it sounds, your journey as a magician/mentalist. I've seen you with coins and cards and you got chops so why are you a mentalist? Have you always been a mentalist since you started working in the industry? If not, what made you change your style? All that then hopefully other videos with the common topics. Got this idea from you btw when you a few months ago put out the advice for magician and mentalist and it left me wanting more of those type of videos.

[@amirmughal9]

First!! Glad to see you back

[@demianwheeler5142]

Thanks for this review, Nique! I ordered this, along with Got a Match?, a few weeks ago. Can’t wait to receive them!

[@niquetan]

Hope you enjoy them and get good use out of them! 👍🏻

[@francisgirola8267]

Your package is on the way Demian. Hope you have lots of fun with GAM and IceBreaker! 😉

[@Mychannel56980]

This will be great for close up. Something different with a great hook. So much potential here. I bought it right away. This will be a worker❤

[@niquetan]

Hope you get good use out of it!

[@francisgirola8267]

Thanks a lot Steve! Your IceBreaker will be posted out today. Hope you have lots of fun with it! ;)

[@amirmughal9]

This reminds me of THE BABY BOOK by John Morton

[@francisgirola8267]

Hi Amir, you are correct. Like John Morton's "Baby Book", "IceBreaker" was very much inspired by Stephen Young's "The Visionary". So, if you are already familiar with this concept, you can probably see its potential here. The most notable differences with the aforementioned effects is that IceBreaker relies on an original method and, instead of revealing thought-of objects, you can determine personal statements about your spectators (e.g. star signs, favourite colours, specific traits...) which can broaden the perspectives of a simple lie detection routine and perhaps lead to readings. ;)

[@Zax-Magic-Israel]

Can those cards be translated to other languages?

[@andyhart8975]

Hi Nique, I bought this pre COVID and got it back out on your suggestion. However the link for the downloadable instruction PDF doesn’t seem to work. Can you help either with Francis’s contact details or I prove ownership with a photo! Many thanks

[@niquetan]

Hi Andy, Francis has commented on this video a couple of times. Or you can try dropping him a message on Facebook, which is how I correspond with him. 👍🏻

[@francisgirola7156]

Hi Andy, the website and link have changed. Send me an email at [e-mail]

[@khc2384]

Another thorough review Nique. I'm just wondering how you (or Francis) rings in the deck. As a hobbyist (performing for friends and family) does one bring this deck out stating that this a game I just purchased? ..if posed as a game, won't it look funny when you just put the cards away after "reading their minds"...won't they want to play too, and so do you let them have a try? Don't get me wrong. I'm intrigued by this...the look of the props, the clever method (not that I know it). Am I thinking too much like a magician? Thanks.

[@francisgirola8267]

Hello, thank you for your questions. Firstly, when it comes to introducing the prop to your audience, there are different directions you can take depending on your performing environment. In close-up situations, you can indeed present the routine as a game. After all, the deck was designed to look like a legit board game that you could have purchased in a store (kudos to Phill Smith). Plus, most people are familiar with the game "truth or lie" or "two truths and a lie". So, the overall procedure of the effect makes sense. When I'm on stage, I like to use those cards as "visual aids" to help spectators select a truth. If you ask anyone to come up with some truths and lies about themselves on the spot , you'll find their imagination will quickly run dry. Therefore, the cards are there to assist them. Finally, you could definitely let your spectators use the deck to play the game themselves. In fact, that can be quite fun! Everything can be thoroughly inspected. I even had some very knowledgeable mentalists examine the deck for several days, and they still couldn't figure it out. ;)

[@niquetan]

Yeah they can REALLY play the game!

[@khc2384]

@@francisgirola8267 Thank you for your response Francis. Again, I don't perform formal close up gigs or stage shows. I'm a mere hobbyist that performs for friends and family on occasion...I do like the idea of "visual aids" and letting them play the "actual game" first and then fool them with your mental powers. I think this would play well with friends and family.

[@DavidJones-davejay]

Seems this product has been discontinued (according to vanishing inc.)

[@RomyRafaelMind]

Love Waffle, Love Propless Mentalism, Love Tattoo Can you read my mind Nique? 🤔

[@niquetan]

WAFFLES.

[@nicohauptmentalist]

i will never understand effects like this especially the methode. can't imagine that a spectator immediately wouldnt think: ok, from what i read out loud for him he knows what card i took. the idea, that it would be a lot to memorize or that some of the truths are lies to und vice versa is secondary or as williamson states, that the red light already is turned on and to turn it off, it isnt enough to implicate. terrible methode.

[@francisgirola8267]

Thank you for your comment. As Nique explained in the video, there's no way for your spectator to think you could have memorised anything. Firstly, the cards can be shuffled (NO stack). Secondly, on the back of each card is just a list of the other cards in the pack. In other words, there are NO differences between the "truths" on the face and the "lies" on the back. You simply allow the spectator to read out their truth in amongst any number of statements that they could have potentially selected in the first place. So, everything is fair and can be thoroughly examined. Hope that helps. ;)