House of Marbles Magic Numbers

Ask somebody in the audience to pick a number between 1 and 60, but not tell anybody what number they have chosen.

Hand all six magic number cards to that person. Ask them to look at each card, in turn, to see if the number they have secretly chosen appears. If it does, the card should be handed to the magician. If it does not the card should be put to one side.

As cards are handed to the magician, he should add the numbers in the top left-hand corners together. When the last card has been looked at, the total of all the top left-hand corner numbers will be the secret number.

Announce the answer to your audience and receive the applause!

Magic Number Sticks Instructions

There are four square sticks with random single-digit numbers down each side. When you place the four sticks side by side, you have four-digit numbers which should be read horizontally. So in the picture shown above the numbers would read:4967,9342,7726,5689.

If you ask someone in the audience to add up those four numbers they will usually need to get a pencil and paper out and do some long-winded addition, or they might use a calculator. Either way, it will take the ordinary person a little while to come up with the answer which is 27724.

The magician, however, can come up with the answer almost instantly. Just note the third horizontal line of number -7726. Take away 2 from that number = 7724. Put that 2 on the front of 7724 to =27724 you have the answer!

Warning: Not suitable for children under 3 years of age as small parts may present a choking hazard.