Mountain & City Ploy

Seth Yang and Coin Key

HPG Studio & Secret Factory Presents

 Contents

Foreword

The History

The Cards

The “Wheel of Clock” Chip

Six Themes Routine

Resonance

Choice

Dream of Ladies

Prediction

Guidance

Fog
 Foreword

The mountains are in the city, the city is in the mountains; the ploy is to plan and then
move.

We want to show the mountain city in the dream as an ideographic world of reality
and fantasy. The past and the future are fused into a 54-card concerto with six
interesting movements.

Firstly, we use the romaunts/stories of the Republic of China as a historical

perspective, and draw on the legendary material from the characters. With the hermit,
the songbird and the half-immortal as the drawer, we retrace the history of the
characters and improve the content structure and complete historical perspective of
the deck of cards.

Secondly, the design and the game flow of the cards are based on/focusing on the ploy.
We've set up six main themes for Mountain & City Ploy with additional chips to give
it an interesting content.

Lastly, we hope to combine the "magic+" with Chinese traditional culture naturally, so
that our magic products can exude its own unique charm during the localization
process.

HPG Studio

2020.8.25
 The History

In the 1930s, Lian Kuoru serialized Talking about the Jiang Hu Underworld in the Shi
Yan Newspaper, which depicts the landscape of the Jiang Hu underworld in the late
Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, and reveals the rules, the jargons, and
the inner workings of the Jiang Hu underworld.

The idea behind Mountain & City Ploy is to take the Republic of China's Jiang Hu
underworld as the background, the mountain city as the geographical coordinate, and
the portraits of people in the Jiang Hu underworld as the entry point, and then it is
fictionalized with anecdotes and legends.

The picture cards-Jack, Queen, King-represent the hermits, the songbirds and the
half-immortals respectively. Next, we will take you into their world through a
historical tracing and discussion.

The Hermits

In Mountain & City Ploy, the hermits hides in the streets. They look like ordinary
people, and no one can recognize them. They do righteous deeds in the Republic of
China's Jiang Hu underworld.

The Songbirds

In Mountain & City Ploy, the graceful and enchanting songbirds are not only a
representative of the awakening of female consciousness in the Republic of China, but
also a symbol of fashion in that particular era.

The Half-Immortals

In Mountain & City Ploy, the half-immortals are the most mysterious people in the
Jiang Hu underworld. They roam the streets of the mountain city, and hawk their
fortune-telling stalls, which also make the point-the "ploy".
 The Cards

Mountain & City Ploy consists of a standard 52-card pack with two jokers and two
special cards-one is a double back card, the other is a double faced card (its two faces
are ♣A and ♦J). According to the design idea, there are four main systems.

1. The Notation System

There are two types of notation in Mountain & City Ploy. One is the card back
recognition(marking) system and the other is the unidirectional characteristic of the
sides of card back.

(1) The Card Back Recognition System

There are 4 areas on the back of each card, and the 4 areas are in full mirror symmetry.
There are marks at all of these 4 areas. Take the Ace of spades as an example.
 The card back of the Ace of spades

The performer only needs to take a look at any one of these 4 areas. Again, take the
upper left corner of the back of the Ace of spades as an example.

The mark in the identification area (the Ace of spades)

The top red box represents the suit of cards and the bottom red box represents the
number of points.

Once you know where to identify, you will be able to clearly identify the specific card
based on the following cross-reference list.

The cross-reference list of the suit of cards

The two protruding strips represent different suit of cards, and their corresponding
memory features are as follows:
Spades-large left and small right
Hearts-both left and right are large
Clubs-small left, large right
Diamonds-both left and right are small

The cross-reference list of the number of points

Through pictorial mnemonics, the performer can recognize the number of points of
the cards directly from the pictorial meaning (see the cross-reference list above).

(2) The Unidirectional Characteristic of the Sides of Card Back

Each card has a fixed position on the back. This position is in the center of the sides,
and it has the unidirectional characteristic as shown below.
 The card back of the Ace of spades

The two red boxes are specific areas of showing the unidirectional characteristic,
where the openings for the flame elements are all facing the same direction. Based on
this characteristic, any card magic that takes advantage of the unidirectional
characteristic of the card back can be accomplished.

2. The Hermit System

The four Jacks of Mountain & City Ploy have a unique design. The figures of the ♠J,
the ♣J, and the ♦J have no faces, and only the figure of the ♥J has a face and a facial
expression.

With this unique design, you can accomplish the following effects.

1. Using the Elmsley Count, place the ♥J as the third card of all four Jacks face up,
show four Jacks with no faces, and then perform effects like variation and emergence.

2. You can place the ♥J as the third card of the entire face-down Jacks with its face up,
using the Elmsley Count, to show four face-down cards. Then turn the ♥J over and
show that the other three cards are all with no faces. Use the ♥J as a hint.
In order to emphasize the "hide" nature of the hermit system, there is something
behind the scenes. Each figure of four Jacks holds a different item, and these items
can be grouped into two categories. Figures of the ♠J, the ♣J, and the ♦J hold cold
weapons, while the figure of the ♥J holds a clock.

And this clock is mirrored.

The card front of the Jack of hearts

When you place the ♥J in front of the mirror, the hands in the clock and the logo will
magically combine to reveal another card: the ♥7. The effect is as follows.

Clock mirror effect: the seven of hearts

In addition to the ♥J, each of two black Jacks also hides information.

Place the ♠J and the ♣J horizontally, and you will observe two details at the center of
the costume of the ♠J and the ♣J. There is an 8 at the center of the costume of the ♠J,
and there is a ♦ at the center of the costume of the ♣J. When the two cards are shown
together, they will form one card: the ♦8. The effect is as follows.

Combine the ♠ J and the ♣ J horizontally to form the ♦8

3. The Item Reading System

The four Queens of Mountain & City Ploy can be as a separate deck of cards. The
combination of items at the center of each Queen implies the ancient principle of
mind reading. This principle has been widely used in magic cards, such as
age-guessing cards, wish items (Tianyang has published Dream Psychometry in 1999),
etc.

Here, we extend this principle to playing cards, so that the performer can take the
cards and perform this interesting and magical mind-reading effect at any time. In
addition, we positioned the theme as "Items Women Want/Love" and the four Queens
correspond to four emotions of women: happiness, anger, sadness, and joy.

All the Queens are made up of 12 items: clothes, earrings, bikinis, high heels, perfume,
rings, necklaces, handbags, wine, chocolates, lipsticks, and watches.
 12 items

With reference to the following list, you will more easily understand how the item
reading system works.

♠Q represents ♥Q represents ♣Q represents ♦Q represents

number 1 number 2 number 4 number 8
clothes bikinis earrings bikinis high perfume handbags wine
heels
perfum necklace rings necklace rings necklace chocolate watches
e s s s s
wine lipsticks chocolate lipsticks watche high lipsticks handbag
s s heels s
Four Queens and their corresponding items & numbers

In this system, you only need to remember that spades represent 1, hearts represent 2,
clubs represent 4, and diamonds represent 8. Ask the audience to remember 1 item out
of these 12 items. Then you simply take out the 4 Queens successively, and ask the
audience if the item the audience remember is on the corresponding Queen. When the
audience say yes, you need to remember the corresponding numbers secretly and add
them up. You will be able to read exactly what the audience remember based on the
sum of the corresponding numbers and the memory list.

For example, suppose the audience remember chocolates, then the audience will say
no when showing the Queen of spades; the audience will say yes when showing the
Queen of hearts; the audience will say no when showing the Queen of clubs; and the
audience will say yes when showing the Queen of diamonds.

According to their corresponding numbers, hearts and diamonds, which are 2 and 8,
respectively, you only need to calculate 2 plus 8 to get 10. Referring to the list below,
10 corresponds to chocolates.

clothes 1 necklaces 7
earrings 2 handbags 8
bikinis 3 wine 9
high heels 4 chocolates 10
perfume 5 lipsticks 11
rings 6 watches 12
12 items and their corresponding sums of numbers

This system requires the performer to remember the items and their corresponding
number (see table above).

4. The Bagua System

The Bagua system of Mountain & City Ploy is a general concept that refers to a series
of principles of divination, guidance, and coincidence around fortune tellers
(half-immortals). It mainly involves the four Kings and the two Jokers. Each of the
four Kings has a table with items for each figure, and these items all have meanings.

(1) Bagua Positioning

If you look closely, you will find all clothes in the four Kings have different diagrams
of a primordial Bagua (see table below).

Zhen & Xun ♠K

Qian & Kun ♥K
Dui & Gen ♣K
Kan & Li ♦K

Thus, if letting the spectator choose any“mountain”on the card backs (as a frame of
reference, corresponding to the two ends of Bagua) after shuffling the four Kings wih
their faces down, you will know the spectator ’s choice according to the card back
recognition system and the unidirectional characteristic of the sides of card back.

The spectator puts the chip on any mountain of card backs. The positions of mountains are shown
in the image below.(these two mountains correspond to two different Bagua diagrams of a King)
 (2) The Guidance Cards

There are three dice (1, 2, 1) on the table in the King of hearts, which means this card
can show 4 points depending on your needs. You can design your own
guidance-related procedure based on it.

The two back Kings-the King of spades and the King of clubs-also have guidance
effect. There are two charms on their tables, one with 18 and the other with 43. You
can have many interesting effects with this feature. You can read the “Guidance”
section for details.

(3) The State Cards

The King of diamonds is a special card. The figure of this card expresses the final
state of a choice. The fortune teller holds a cell phone in one hand, and his another
hand is fisted. And a card is on the table with its face down. This design is for a
variation of the classic three-item trick, as described in the “Choice” section.

(4) The Jokers

The two Jokers in Mountain & City Ploy feature the evil ghosts of the mountain city.
Each ghost holds three cards and the middle one shows “auspicious” and “ill”
respectively. This is a unique design that allows you to create your own magic flow.

The “Wheel of Clock” Chip

A chip called the “Wheel of the Clock” is included in Mountain & City Ploy. This
chip has two sides-one is with a clock (the clock is held by the figure of the Jack of
hearts) and the other is with a primordial Bagua.

This chip has the following characteristics.

1. The clock is mirrored. When observing the clock through a mirror, the seven of
hearts will appear.

2. The diagrams in the primordial Bagua are red and black. The red color represents
“auspicious” and the black color represents “ill”. This also echoes the Jokers.

Six Theme Routine

Resonance

Effect:
The performer takes out a deck of cards and picks out four Jacks from it with their
faces down, then places them on the table. Next, ask a spectator to remember one card
(the seven of hearts) from the rest of the cards.

Ask the spectator to imagine this card flipped over in the middle of the entire deck. To
see if this is true, ask the spectator to spread the deck and see that the seven of hearts
has been flipped over with its face up. In addition, if the spectator spreads the four
Jacks on the table, they will find that the corresponding Jack of hearts has also been
turned face up.

And, the spectator will be surprised to see that only the figure of the Jack of hearts is
with face while figures of other Jacks are without faces. The imagination seems to
work only on the hearts.

Finally, when the performer picks up the Jack of hearts and faces the mirror, the
spectator will see that the hidden seven of hearts has been deeply imprinted on the
clock.

Method:
1. Take out four Jacks and one seven of hearts from the deck of cards, and place the
seven of hearts as the fifth card of the rest of the deck. Then turn the Jack of hearts
over and place it as the third card of the four-Jack stack. Next place the four-Jack
stack on the table with their faces down.

2. Pick up the four Jacks and do an Elmsley Count with their faces down. Place the
last card at the bottom after the count, and show the spectator that the four Jacks are
all face down.

3. Cull the fifth card which is the seven of hearts from the deck of cards. Then ask the
spectator to touch a card from the deck. No matter which card the spectator touches,
they will be shown the culled seven of hearts (you can also use any method you prefer
to let the spectator touch the seven of hearts). Let the spectator remember the seven of
hearts, and put it back.

4. When putting the seven of hearts back, flip it over quietly. You can use any method
you prefer to make it happen. There is a very basic method. First place the seven of
hearts on top, and keep it in the break status. Then cut a small stack of cards from the
bottom of the deck, flip them face up, and place them on top of the break. Next flip
the entire stack of cards below the break over, and put them back. Finally, turn the
entire deck of cards face down. Now, the seven of hearts is turned over.

5. At this point, you can spread the deck of cards and show the spectator that the
seven of hearts has been flipped over. Then spread the four-Jack stack and show the
Jack of hearts flipped over. Next show that the other three Jacks are faceless, and pick
up the Jack of hearts. Finally, show the Jack of hearts in the mirror. If no mirror is
available, you can ask the spectator to turn on their phone's front camera and act as a
mirror.

This flow is a different version of Max Maven's “Barin wave”.

Choice

① Free Will
Effect:
The performer takes a card from a deck of cards,puts it aside, and says that this card is
a prophecy card that will be revealed later. Then, the performer decides to play a game
of “choice” with three items-a chip, a card (ask a spectator to choose from a stack of
cards without revealing its face), and a cell phone-on the table.

After the spectator chooses, the image will be that the spectator holds the chip while
the performer holds the cell phone and the card is left on the table. At this point, ask
the spectator to open the prophecy card that was put aside before. The spectator will
find the King of diamonds, and the picture on the King of diamonds corresponds to
the current scene in which they are making their choice.

In addition, ask the spectator to pick up the chip and turn on the phone's front camera.
The moment the chip are pointed at the camera, a card will appear-the seven of hearts.

Finally, when the spectator turns over the card he/she has chosen, he/she will see the
seven of hearts.

Method:
This procedure is a variation of the combination of the classic “Free Will” three-item
choice mind trick and cards.

1. Before the show begins, take the King of diamonds (its picture is specially designed)
from the stack and place it face down as the prophecy card.

2. Then you tell the spectator that you need 3 items for the game of choice. You take
the “Wheel of the Clock” chip from your pocket and place it on the table, then ask the
spectator to take out a cell phone. Finally you pick up the stack of cards, and force the
spectator to choose the seven of hearts and place it face down on the table in a row
with the other items. Now, the cell phone, the card, and the chip are the 3 items in the
game.

3. Using “Magician Choice”, leave the card on the table while the spectator or the
performer has the phone and the chip in the hand. Once the choice is made, have the
spectator flip over the prophecy card. The picture on the King of diamonds will
coincide with the current choice.

4. The spectator and the performer each holds the phone or the chip. Then turn on the
phone’s front camera and point the clock side of the chip at the camera. The seven of
hearts will appear on the screen. Turn over the card on the table, and the card is the
seven of hearts. Hit!
 ② Déjà Vu

Effect:

The performer wants to play a game of “choice” with a spectator. This game will use a
cell phone, a card (which is chosen from a stack of cards by the spectator without
seeing its face) and a small item from the spectator (like a coin).

After the spectator chooses, the image will be that the spectator holds the cell phone
while the performer holds the coin in the hand, and the card is left on the table.

At this point, ask the spectator to flip over the card chosen by the spectator, and a déjà
vu will happen-the card on the table is exactly the King of diamonds, and the picture
on the card corresponds to the current choice perfectly.

Method:
This procedure is a variation of the combination of the classic “Free Will” three-item
choice mind trick and cards.

1. Place the King of diamonds, which the spectator will be forced to choose, on the
top.

2. The performer asks for three random items for the game. Be casual and ask the
spectator to take out a small item (as long as this item can be held in one hand, and it
is a coin in this case) while the performer takes out a cell phone from the pocket.

3. In the current scenario, the cards need to be on the table. So you can perform this
trick after other card tricks. Use any way you like to force the spectator to choose the
King of diamonds.

4. Three items-the cell phone, the coin and the card (the King of diamonds)-are
arranged in a row on the table. Use the principle of “Magician Choice” to have the
card left on the table, and the cell phone and the coin left in the hands of the spectator
or the performer. Once the choice is made, let the spectator flip over the card-a déjà
vu will happen.

Dream of Ladies
Effect:
The performer picks four Queens from the deck of cards and explains to the spectator
that the items on the Queens are the girls’ favorite gifts/commodities according to big
data analysis.

After the spectator understands the correspondences of the items and the shapes on
the four Queens, the performer tells the spectator he/she will do a mind test and
interaction on female preferences. Then the performer asks the spectator to shuffle the
four Queens with their faces down and make the four Queens as a stack. Now, ask the
spectator to think of an item which is his/her favorite item among the items he/she
saw on the four Queens before in mind.

Next, ask the spectator to pick up the first card from the stack of the four Queens and
say if his/her favorite item is on this card. The rest of cards of the stack are also done
in the same manner.

The performer stands at a distance and directly names the item the spectator had in
mind.

Method:
The performer can read the spectator’s thoughts with simple memory and practice.

1. No need to prepare, just take out four Queens from the cards. By studying the
section “The Cards - The Item Reading System”, you will be able to understand the
basic principles of the mind-reading procedure in full detail. And you will become
proficient with the corresponding tables and memory exercise in this section.

2. After taking out the four Queens, be sure to familiarize the spectator with the items
on the cards (this is important to prevent the spectator from misinterpreting items).
Introduce the spectator to the correspondences of the items and the shapes on the four
Queens. Once the spectator has fully identified these items, let the spectator think of
any one in her mind.

3. Then ask the spectator to shuffle the four Queens with their faces down and make
the four cards as a stack. In fact, thanks to the notation system of Mountain & City
Ploy, you know what each card is. And you only need to know the suit. In this case,
spades represent 1, hearts represent 2, clubs represent 4, and diamonds represent 8.
According to the suit of the cards picked up by the spectator, and the spectator’s
feedback (presence or absence), you can get the sum of the numbers.

4. According to the item reading system, different sum of the numbers corresponds to
different item. You can know what the spectator had in mind.
 Prediction

Effect:
The performer picks out four Kings from a deck of cards and explains to the spectator
that the cards represent fortune tellers. Also, their costumes have various Bagua
diagrams. The performer invites the spectator to participate in a journey of fortune
telling.

Next, the performer takes out a chip (the “Wheel of Clock” chip) and two Jokers. Put
one of the Jokers aside, indicating that it will predict a message later.

Have the spectator place the four Kings face down and shuffle them. After making a
free choice and with only one King left, ask the spectator to pick up a chip and cover
any “mountain” on the card backs with this chip. Once it is done, flip over this card
and tell the spectator the chosen trigram. For example, if the spectator chooses the
Qian trigram, the performer will perform a fortune-telling reading and then say that it
is an “auspicious” trigram. In fact, this prediction is right from the start. Flip over the
chip, the Qian trigram of the Bagua diagram is in red (meaning “auspicious”). Then
flip over the chosen Joker, the ghost of it also holds the “auspicious”.

Finally, the performer says that it has been predicted that the spectator will certainly
pick the Qian trigram from the beginning. To prove it, he takes out a fluorescent
flashlight and illuminates the Bagua on the chip, and the spectator will find that only
the Qian trigram is emitting red fluorescent around it.

Method:
The procedure is an extension of fortune telling through Bagua in traditional Chinese
culture. It is a very creative combination of Bagua and mind tricks.

1. You need to have a red highlighter pen (colorless). First, use this pen to circle the
Qian trigram (or mark it obviously) on the Bagua side of the “Wheel of Clock” chip.
Then draw a Kun trigram right above the free hand of the evil ghost in the
“auspicious” Joker. These two marks are for the final decision on which image to
show with a fluorescent flashlight.

2. At the beginning, take out the two Jokers and pretend to give a prediction of
“auspicious” or “ill”, while in fact you only need to put the “auspicious” Joker aside
with its face down. Then take out four Kings and ask the spectator to shuffle them
with their faces down. But thanks to the card back recognition system, you will know
exactly which one the King of hearts is. Next, you “force” the spectator to choose the
King of hearts with Magician's Choice. Take out the “Wheel of Clock” chip you have
prepared, give it to the spectator, and let the spectator decide which mountain (there
are symmetrical mountains on two ends of card backs) to be covered with this chip.

3. No matter what the spectator chooses, you can end the game in different ways. First,
flip over the King of hearts and show that the “auspicious” prediction is correct. If the
spectator has chosen the Qian trigram, illuminate the chip with a fluorescent flashlight,
where the Qian trigram will show with red fluorescent. If the spectator has chosen the
Kun trigram, illuminate the “auspicious” Joker with a fluorescent flashlight, where the
Kun trigram will show with red fluorescent.

How to Explain Some Words

The “auspicious” means “going well”, and is the power of growth. The “ill” means
“not going well”, and is the power of deviation.

Qian (☰): This is an auspicious trigram. It represents masculinity. It means that you
have recently been going in an upward and positive direction.

Kun (☷): This is an auspicious trigram. It represents smoothness. It means that as

long as you go with the flow, there will be good results.

Li (☵): This is an auspicious trigram. It represents bright and splendid. You need to
work with people who share your interests.

Kan (☵): This is an auspicious trigram to some degree. It means that life has had its
twists and turns, but you will be successful in the end. You need to plan smoothly, and
take action sincerely.

Zhen (☳): This is an ill trigram. It represents shock. Recently, you should be calm
and peaceful enough to prevent yourself from being frightened. It is not suitable for
travel, and stay at home more.

Xun (☳): This is an ill trigram. It represents that wind never stops. Recently you
should avoid being anxious, and keep yourself peaceful. Do not rush into anything.

Gen (☶): This is an ill trigram. It represents stillness and restraint. Don’t keep it
inside, exercise more to keep in good mood. Do not act alone.

Dui (☱): This is an ill trigram. It represents that you can never keep your mouth shut.
Don’t go outside to avoid danger.

Extension: Bagua Numerology

Effect:
The performer takes nine cards (eight cards are with Bagua, “auspicious” trigrams or
“ill” trigrams; one card is with Tai Chi diagram) from a card pack. There are numbers
1-9 on the card backs of each card. Then the performer places the nine cards in order
on the table as a 3*3 grid.

The performer takes out the “Wheel of Clock” chip and tells the spectator that he or
she will make a prediction first. Then, in front of the spectator, cover an option with a
sticker in the position corresponding to “auspicious” or “ill” on the chip. Next ask the
spectator to put the chip on any one of cards with the Bagua side facing down.

Once the spectator is done, the performer asks the spectator to move the chip in any
direction of up, down, left, right. The number of steps is the same as the number on
the back of the card that is under the chip at this point. If the chip is initially placed on
the card with number 5, the spectator needs to move the chip with 5 steps on the 3*3
grid.

Now, the chip is on a card. And ask the spectator to flip over this card. If the card says
“Qian trigram, auspicious”, the performer will make a fortune-telling reading, and ask
the spectator to flip over the chip. Only “auspicious” is shown. The performer’s first
prediction is correct.

At the end, the performer says that everything was predetermined from the beginning.
The performer opens the pack of cards at the beginning and takes out a note with
Bagua. The prediction of the spectator’s choice is already on it.

Method:
This effect was named “Kane's Variant” in Peter Kane’s booklet. The cards originally
represent “cannot get it right” boxes. Later, Jerry Mentzer extended the principle to
“the winner” and “the loser” in Nine Way Variant.
The performer and the spectator compete, and the performer wins anyway. In this
version, we extend the principle to the theme of “fortune telling”.

1. Prepare a tri-fold card pack, 9 white cards, 2 pieces of paper for prophecy, 1
“Wheel of Clock” chip, small-size stickers, a friction pen, a highlighter pen, a black
marker, a red marker, a lighter, a fluorescent light (spare).

2. First of all, on one of the 2 pieces of paper for prophecy, draw a complete Bagua
diagram with a friction pen, except for the Qian and Kun trigrams. The Qian trigram
is drawn with a regular marker, and the Kun trigram is painted and overstruck in a
highlighter pen (since they are colorless, they look fine and only glow under a
fluorescent light). Do the similar things on the other piece of paper for prophecy, but
on the Li trigram and the Kan trigram respectively. Then, place the two pieces of
paper for prophecy in different places in the tri-fold pack.

3. Take out 9 white cards, and write numbers 1-9 on their backs. Draw Bagua,
“auspicious” trigrams or “ill” trigrams on their faces (except the fifth card, this card is
with drawing Tai Chi diagram on it). The correspondence of their faces and backs is
shown below.

4. Once you have the 9 cards ready, place them in one side of the tri-fold pack. Then,
put the “Wheel of Clock” chip, lighter, fluorescent light, and small-size stickers in
your own pocket.

5. According to the procedure, you take out the tri-fold pack, and then you take out
the 9 cards. After explaining these 9 cards, arrange them in a 3*3 grid. Then take out
the “Wheel of Clock” chip and small-size stickers (not included in Mountain & City
Ploy), and tell the spectator that you will make a prediction. Next turn the Bagua side
of the chip towards yourself, and use a sticker to cover the “ill”. After that, turn the
Bagua side of the chip down and ask the spectator to place the chip on any one of
cards.

6. Once the spectator has placed the chip, the spectator will move the chip according
to the rule and the number on the back of the card that is under the chip at this point.
The number of steps the chip will be moved is the same as the number above. Due to
this rule and mathematical principles, in the end, the chip will stay on one of the
following cards: the cards with 2, 4, 6, or 8. They correspond to Qian (☰), Kun (☷),
Li (☲) and Kan (☵). All of the four trigrams are “auspicious”. In other words, the
spectator will eventually choose one of these four trigrams anyway.

7. Flip over the chip, and it shows that the spectator has chosen “auspicious”. The first
prediction is correct. Then, according to the spectator’s final choice of trigram, open
the tri-fold card pack from different sides, and take out the prophecy note. You can
reveal the prophecy in different ways.

Guidance
 The King of Hearts: Dice Puzzle

The fortune teller have thrown three dices with four points in the King of hearts in
Mountain & City Ploy. You can have some interesting effects with this feature. Let’s
take an example.

Take the King of hearts from the entire deck and place it face up at the bottom of the
deck. Then, take the other three Kings and place them face down under the King of
hearts (now at the bottom of the deck). You can start performing after finishing it.

Spread the entire deck (not to leave out the King of hearts at the bottom), and ask the
spectator to choose any card from the deck and remember the card. Then the
performer deals the cards stack by stack from the top, and asks the spectator to say
stop. When the spectator calls, ask the spectator to place the chosen card on top of
cards on the table, and the performer place cards left in hands on top of it.

The performer says that the card chosen by the spectator will be flipper over with his
or her snap. Spread the deck of cards on the table, a card is flipper over. But this card
is the King of hearts. The performer then states that the King of hearts is a fortune
teller who has figured out the position of the card chosen by the spectator. The fortune
teller has thrown three dices and gotten four points, which means that the spectator
needs to deal four cards from this position.

The spectator does so. When dealing the fourth card, the spectator flips over it and it
is the card chosen by himself or herself. And, the other three cards are dealt are other
fortune tellers.

The King of Spades and the King of Clubs: A Duet

The images of the two black King have two charms: one is with 18 and the other is
with 43. You can have many interesting effects with this feature. Let’s take an
example.

1. Take out the two black Kings and put them aside. Use any method you like to have
the spectator cut four cards: an Ace, an 8, a 4, and a 3. Flip over the two black Kings.
The prediction is correct.

2. You can use these two numbers directly to perform “Prior Commitment” by the late
magician Simon Aronson. Please read Try the Impossible (2001) for details. With
Mountain & City Ploy, you can use these two fortune tellers to point out the two
numbers and find the cards chosen by two spectators. You don’t need to write
numbers on the backs of two Jokers as in the original version.

3. You can use the numbers on the charms to design a “chain” of card finding.
For example, ask the spectator to say a random number, find the King of clubs (with
18), count 18 cards, and then find the card chosen by the spectator.

Fog

Effect:
The performer picks out two black Jacks from a deck of cards and puts them aside.
Tell the spectator that these two cards are two detectives, and they will help us find
the suspect later. Have the spectator pick a card from the stack as a suspect, such as
the eight of diamonds, and mix it with the other cards in the stack.

The performer then places the two Jacks back to the stack. After the two detectives
carefully investigate, they find one card. Have the spectator flip over the card, and the
card is exactly the eight of diamonds.

Why do the detectives find the suspect? The two Jacks have clues for the case. They
clean the fog and provide the final answer (They form the eight of diamonds when
they are together).

Method:
This procedure is a classic sandwich scenario. Its structure is from Search and
Destroy by Aaron Fisher. We’ve made a few improvements to the method and the
scenario.

1. Before the performance begins, you need to place the eight of diamonds on top of
the deck. At the beginning of the performance, you take two black Jacks from the
deck of cards, put them aside and tell the spectator that they are two detectives who
are going to catch the suspect later.

2. Now, the eight of diamonds is on top of the stack. Force the spectator to choose the
eight of diamonds with Cross Force or Classic Force or any other way.

3. Once the spectator has the eight of diamonds, let the spectator remember it. At this
point, you place it back as the seventh card from the top. Then have several false
shuffles and false cuts to mix the eight of diamonds.
4. Spread the cards on the table, pick up the two black Jacks, and place them back
with their faces up. Place the first Jack underneath the seventh card (the eight of
diamonds), and place the second Jack near the bottom.

5. Then you pick up the stack of cards, prepare to close the spread cards. At the
moment you close the cards, you need to do a pass. Now the top half of the cards and
the bottom half of the cards have switched. You only need to make a magic gesture to
tell the spectator that the two Jacks are searching and have narrowed it down.

6. Spread the cards, and show that the two Jacks have moved closer to the middle of
the stack of cards. There are about 10 cards between two Jacks. It has been narrowed
down. Then you pick up the stack of cards, spread it in your hand, and cull the first
Jack. Continue to spread the cards, and secretly insert this Jack into the position on
the eight of diamonds.

7. After the stack is closed, you continue to make a magic gesture, telling the spectator
that the two detectives have found the suspect based on a special clue. You spread the
cards on the table again, and the spectator will find a face-down card sandwiched
between two face-up black Jacks. Ask the spectator to flip over it, and the card is
exactly the eight of diamonds which is chosen by the spectator.

8. Ask the spectator, “Do you know why the detectives were able to find the suspect?
In fact, they have important clues at the beginning. Once they meet, the answer will
be found.” You place the two Jacks on the table horizontally, and align them. Ask the
spectator to pay attention to the center of their clothes. The spectator will find there
are one ♦ and one 8, making the eight of diamonds.