Tenyo +1 Campaign Redemptions a.k.a. Specials
Starting in 1996, Tenyo began offering a free bonus trick for Japanese customers who sent in proof of purchases and postage. Tenyo calls the program the +1 Campaign and they have offered a redemption trick for every year since 1996. The tricks are made of paper/cardboard and pack flat for easy shipping. The tricks are very well made and the designs are very good. Most of the tricks are based on known mathematical and magical principles but they are presented in an imaginative way that you would expect from Tenyo. Unfortunately the +1 bonus tricks were never offered to Tenyo’s customers outside of Japan. Since they were only available in Japan, they are hard to find outside of Japan. They are hardly ever seen on ebay or in other magic auctions. When the trick is released each year, sellers like SEO Magic and Magico-Japan will have them for collectors and magicians outside of Japan with translated instructions. It is best to buy these when they first come out (usually in the first quarter of the year) as SEO and Magico-Japan get limited supplies and once they run out they usually can not get more. Sometimes the tricks are reprinted and available for sale again but only in Japan. In 2013 Tenyo reprinted Magic Sneakers and in 2014 they reprinted Magic Calendar which are two of the best +1 tricks. As I was working with these tricks so that I could make this webpage, I gained a greater appreciation and realized how nice and “special” these tricks are.
1996
Psychic Battle ESP
Tomoyuki Shimomura
Description
The top five psychics are gathered to contest their abilities and to determine the Best Psychic in the World. During the contest, you demonstrate your own psychic abilities and identify the winner (without seeing the card) of the contest who was chosen by chance. Furthermore you show a prediction card that you selected before the contest even started that has the symbol of the winning psychic. This is mental magic with an interesting story.
Comments
I had the Japanese instructions translated so I could perform the trick and I am glad that I did because it is a fun presentation. This trick does not get a lot of attention from English-speaking Tenyophiles because of the lack of English instructions and that it is hard to find.
Availability
This trick was reprinted and available as a bonus packaged with Chinese Linking Rings that was sold in Japanese packaging. Even so it is not that easy to find.
Approximate Pricing
$40
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
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Additional Pictures [+]
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- Card back design
1997
Four Chance
Tomoyuki Shimomura
Description
The spectator is given five colored chips, four blank chips and one $1,000 chip. They are told to place the chips in any order on the five spaces on the Four Chance game board. The spectator then follows the instructions (written on a provided card), rolling the die, moving the chips, removing chips, until only one chip remains. They spectator gets a $1,000 cash prize if the $1,000 chip is removed from the game board as long as the instructions were followed properly. No mater how many times the spectator tries, and no mater what space the $1,000 chip starts on, the $1,000 chip always remains on the board and the spectator is a loser.
Comments
This trick looks really cool, but in my opinion it is not as good as it looks. The $1,000 chip always winds up on the same spot and after performing it a few times, it is obvious to many spectators that there is something “shady” going on. You might say don’t perform it more than once, but that would not make sense as repeated losing is the idea behind the effect. The tricks come with a tiny red die.
Availability
This trick is hard to find. It was never reprinted and it was released many years ago.
Approximate Pricing
$100
Links
Top of this page
Additional Pictures [+]
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- My own version of Four Chance that I made with genuine metal core poker chips held in place w. magnets. The instructions sheet sides out from the side of the game board.
1998
Fortune Telling Card
Toru Suzuki
Description
The magician shows a Magician’s Card Fortune Telling card and a thin red rod. Also on the table is a blue envelope but the magician does not refer to it. The card has a spiral of 39 card backs, each with a small hole in the center. The spectator chooses a number between 10 and 20. They then place the rod in the “1” hole and move clockwise the number of holes (counting the 1 hole as 1) equal to their chosen number. The rod remains in place and the card is turned over showing the faces of the cards. The spectator then moves clockwise again the same number of times. The card where the rod winds up determines the chosen card. At the bottom of this side of the card are four boxes each containing a different suit and a fortune. The suit of the chosen card determines the fortune which leads to the blue envelope. When the envelope is opened there is a card with a crystal ball and the chosen card printed on it.
Comments
This trick is very good although I have never performed it.
Availability
This trick is hard to find. It was never reprinted and it was released many years ago.
Approximate Pricing
$100
Links
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Additional Pictures [+]
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- Front of cards
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- Back of cards
1999
Dream Psychometry
Toru Suzuki
Description
A card with 14 items pictured on it is shown to a spectator. The spectator is asked to think about one of the items on the card that they might dream about having. The spectator is handed 4 cards with different combinations of the 14 dream items and instructed to mix the cards so the magician does not know the order. The spectator is then told to look on each card for their dream item. If the item is on the card they should keep it and if not, they should hand it to you without showing the face of the card. After the spectator has looked at all 4 cards they are told to concentrate on the card(s) with their dream item that they hold. With in moments, the magician reveals the exact item that the spectator was dreaming of.
Comments
This is a very good trick and it is one of my favorite +1 tricks. It uses the aged cards principal. My stand alone creation called Bird Bird uses the same method.
Availability
This trick was reprinted and available as a bonus packaged with a Japanese package Tenyo trick. Even so it is not that easy to find.
Approximate Pricing
$40
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
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Additional Pictures [+]
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- Card back design
2000
Telephone Telepathy
Toru Suzuki
Description
The magician looks away as a spectator moves a coin along a game board using three 2D dice cards to determine the moves. When the spectator is done the magician can determine the item on the space where they wound up.
Comments
This works pretty well and there is very little to remember. The trick comes with a booklet of at least 32 identical sheets (my book has 32) that can be torn out (the pages are perforated) and performed or you can use the same sheet over again.
Availability
This trick is hard to find. It was never reprinted and it was released many years ago.
Approximate Pricing
$80
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
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Additional Pictures [+]
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- Back of sheet
2001
Illusion Scale a.k.a. Sukkaku Scale
Toru Suzuki
Description
Two thin curved cards with pictures of cats are shown to be the same size by measuring them with a curved ruler. Magically the cards seem to now be different sizes, the difference is not small, but dramatic. Illusion Scale uses a known principle of optical illusion that has been used in magic previously. Manipulation to stretch and shorten. Very nice case
Comments
This is a very popular Tenyo magic trick and to some Tenyophiles like it as much as some of the top Tenyo magic tricks. Tenyo uses a known magic principle but makes it more interesting with the use of the cats and the ruler. The scales are laminated and it comes with a very nice curved vinyl case to hold them. There were counterfeit Illusion Scales being sold not too long ago. The genuine Illusion Scale has the brown vinyl holder that has the same curved shape as the rulers. The counterfeit holder is black and rectangular.
Availability
This trick has become hard to find.
Approximate Pricing
$40
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
Top of this page
Additional Pictures [+]
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- Close-up of props
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- Back of props
2002
Prediction Egg
Toru Suzuki / Tomoyuki Shimomura
Description
An egg-shaped card is placed on the table and the audience is told that on the other side of the card, there is a prediction. The magician next shows 10 cards that all have egg bearing animals on them. He then deals the cards in two piles and the spectator chooses all piles on either the left or right. That pile is discarded and all future piles on that side will be discarded. The magician continues to deal two piles and then removes the pile from the side the spectator chose until one card remains. The spectator picks up the face down card and looks at it and can show the audience. The magician picks up the egg-shaped card and holds it in one hand. He tells the spectator that the egg is about to hatch which will reveal his prediction and hopefully it will match the chosen card. The spectator is told to tap the middle of the egg card. After he does that the egg “cracks” a little. The spectator is told to tap it again but this time the egg hatches and a snake bites down on their finger which matches the chosen card.
Comments
This is a very good trick and the reveal is very original using the origami theme. Prediction egg comes with a brown snake and a green snake so you have a spare if one gets worn. The cards are the same size as miniature playing cards.
Availability
This trick is hard to find. It was never reprinted and it was released many years ago.
Approximate Pricing
$100
Links
Top of this page
Additional Pictures [+]
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- The revelation!
2003
Poker Chips of the Moonless Night
Toru Suzuki
Description
Three chips are shown face down. The magician turns his back and the spectator mixes the chips according to prompts from the magician. The spectator choses one chip for the magician to hold in their closed hand. The magician turns around, he is holding one chip and the spectator holds the other two chips, one in each closed hand. The magician can then determine what chips are in what hands and uses a whimsical presentation to reveal the information.
Comments
The chips and the graphics are nice but in my opinion, the effect is not that spectacular. Some people have made their own version of the trick like in the video.
Availability
This trick is hard to find. It was never reprinted and it was released many years ago.
Approximate Pricing
$50
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
Top of this page
2004
Ghost Puzzle
Toru Suzuki
Description
The magician shows the spectator a blue card with 10 ghosts and the words Ghost Puzzle printed on it. The other side of the card also has 10 ghosts and Ghost Puzzle but this side is red. The magician now shows what looks like the same card cut into 4 pieces. The magician assembles the 4 pieces to show the same image that is on the blue card with once again 10 ghosts. He then turns the 4 pieces over and assembles the red side of the puzzle, but once assembled, there are now 9 ghost and a rectangular hole where the 10th ghost would be. There is a second presentation where the red side is assemble first showing the 10 ghosts. When the blue side is assembled, there are now 11 ghosts? (see additional pictures below)
Comments
This is based on the missing piece brain teaser puzzle that has been around for a long time. I think this trick was reprinted. I have one with a blue vinyl holder that is different from the black vinyl holder that comes with the one more recently sold.
Availability
This should not be too hard to find.
Approximate Pricing
$20
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
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Additional Pictures [+]
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- Assembly of pieces for presentation 1
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- Assembly of pieces for presentation 2
2005
Magical Word
Description
…
Comments
Translated English Instructions are not known to exist for this trick.
Availability
This trick is hard to find.
Approximate Pricing
$50
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
Top of this page
Additional Pictures [+]
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- Card back design
2006
Magic Calendar
Toru Suzuki
Description
10 tokens with different images on them are shown to the spectator. The magician asks the spectator what their birthday is (month and day). The spectator is told that along with the magician, one of the 10 tokens will be selected and magically the image on the token will match the image in the calendar book for their birthday.
Comments
This is a good trick. It uses a clever mathematical principle and there is a mnemonic device to help you remember the number associated with each token. There were many early printings of this trick (there must have been an abundance of redemptions) and in one of the printings two of the tokens and all of the occurrences of those tokens in the calendar book had spelling errors.
Availability
This trick was recently reprinted and is now very easy to obtain. With the original printing, the calendar book cover is green and the package insert is dark brown. The reprint has a brown calendar book cover and a purple package insert. With the original printing, the tokens had either a green and white checkerboard design or a red and white checkerboard design on the back. The tokens in the reprint have a blue and white checkerboard design on the back.
Approximate Pricing
$20
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
Top of this page
Additional Pictures [+]
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- Close-up of chips
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- There were spelling errors in one of the original printings of Magic Calendar
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- Chip back design
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- 2014 reprint of Magic Calendar
2007
Magical Sneakers
Toru Suzuki
Description
Twelve sneaker shaped cards (6 different colored pairs of sneakers) are shown to the spectator. The cards are then shuffled by the magician and cut by the spectator as many times as they want. The magician then divides the cards into two piles of 5 sneakers each. The magician then moves the cards, one pair at a time, to another pile until the spectator tells him to stop. The spectator can then choose a pair of sneakers from the top of either group. Those chosen pair of cards are set aside. The magician shows that the four remaining pairs are mismatched, but when the chosen sneakers are revealed they match. There is a second presentation with a different handling but the effect is basically the same.
Comments
This is my favorite of the +1 tricks. There are two presentations that you can do. The cards are small but it is possible to do a riffle shuffle to make the beginning of the primary presentation even more convincing. In the instructions the first handling is credited to Takayuki Kumazawa and the second handling to Toru Suzuki.
Availability
This trick was recently reprinted and is now very easy to obtain. The original version of the trick came with an olive green vinyl holder where the reprinted version has a mustard yellow vinyl holder.
Approximate Pricing
$20
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
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Additional Pictures [+]
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- Card back design
2008
Magician’s Clock
Toru Suzuki
Description
Three randomly selected cards magically show the exact current time down to the minute.
Comments
There is a timing element to this trick so you have to make sure you perform it at the right pace. In my opinion this trick is not as good as it looks because of the presentation. There are two versions that were released. The first version has a blank card and the second version has a “:” card in place of the blank card.
Availability
This trick was never reprinted and it is hard to find even though it was not released that long ago
Approximate Pricing
$60
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
Top of this page
Additional Pictures [+]
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- Card back design
2009
Magical Burger
Toru Suzuki
Description
Three different presentations can be performed with the 10 round burger cards. Happy Burger — the magician can determine the topping selected by the spectator. Instant Burger — the spectator secretly selects 4 toppings and then the magician reveals what the 4 chosen toppings were by assembling a burger using those toppings. Hamburger Prediction — the magician writes beforehand on a piece of paper, four burger toppings. The magician mixes the cards face-up and face-down by using a sequence determined by the spectator. When the 10 cards are spread, the face up cards match what was written on the paper.
Comments
The back of the 10 round cards are blank and the cards are not marked. To perform these tricks certain sequences have to be followed which may be a lot for some magicians to remember. With the burger theme this is a fun and cool trick but it may be too hard for some to perform. I do not perform it.
Availability
This can still be found at places like SEO Magic but do not wait too long.
Approximate Pricing
$20
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
Top of this page
2010
Magical Cafe
Toru Suzuki
Description
Two different presentations can be performed with one of the sheets from the Magic Cafe Book. Magical Cafe — A perforated sheet with 8 menu items is given to the spectator. The spectator is asked to separate the 8 items and to remember one of them. The magician can then determine what the thought of menu item is. Psychic Coupon — A perforated sheet with eight menu items is given to the spectator. The spectator freely chooses 3 items while the magician’s back is turned. The magician turns around and can reveal the 3 chosen items.
Comments
Both of these tricks require a significant amount of memorization. The coupon book contains 32 sheets for 32 performances.
Availability
This trick is hard to find even though it was not released that long ago
Approximate Pricing
$40
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
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Additional Pictures [+]
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- Back of sheet
2011
Mind Roulette
Tomoyuki Shimomura
Description
A cloth sheet simulating a roulette table is placed on a flat surface. The magician casually places a coin/marker on the betting section of the cloth roulette table. The spectator is asked to choose a space on the circular portion of the roulette table and to not tell the magician their choice. Next the spectator is handed a round card that simulates a roulette wheel. The spectator is asked to choose a number on the roulette wheel and to not tell the magician the number. The spectator is then instructed to place the roulette wheel on the roulette table, lining up the two selected elements when it is put it place. The spectator then moves clockwise around the wheel (this simulates the spinning of the roulette wheel) the number of times that is signified by their chosen number, starting at their chosen space. When they are done counting they wind up at the result for the spin. When the coin is lifted the space underneath matches the result of the spin.
Comments
This works very well and there is just one simple thing to remember.
Availability
This trick is hard to find even though it was not released that long ago
Approximate Pricing
$60
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
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Additional Pictures [+]
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- Close-up of props
2012
Charisma
Tomoyuki Shimomura
Description
Eight cards are shown to the spectator, four jacks and four aces. One jack is switched with one ace. One group has three aces and one jack and the other group has three jacks with one ace. Magically the group with the one jack turns into all jacks and the group with the one ace turns into all aces.
Comments
This is different from previous +1 tricks because it uses playing cards. This is what is known in the world of magic as a packet trick. As with many packet tricks, the cards cannot be inspected.
Availability
This trick should not be too hard to find.
Approximate Pricing
$20
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
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Additional Pictures [+]
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- Card back design
2013
Magical Sushi
Toru Suzuki
Description
…
Comments
…
Availability
This trick should not be too hard to find.
Approximate Pricing
$20
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
Top of this page
Additional Pictures [+]
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- Chip back design
2014
Clairvoyance Tester
Sou Sato / Toru Suzuki
Description
…
Comments
…
Availability
This trick should not be too hard to find.
Approximate Pricing
$20
Links
Performance Video on YouTube
Top of this page
Additional Pictures [+]
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- Card back design