So dananddave.com were (and probably still are) running a special on their PDF bundle and I decided to get it.
Price: $55
Included: Nursery Rhymes 1,2,3 Five and Sleightly Magical
Let me preface my review by saying I just recently started card manipulation and sleight of hand. I am however a fast learner and feel that there is nothing out of my grasp. Everyone is a beginner at some point. So lets get started.
Nursery Rhymes 1,2,3: 4/5
I am grouping these together because they are all similar in production and content. Infact they refer to one another quite a bit in explanations so it's good to have all three so you can check back and forth. As far as difficulty goes just look at the Title. It is a direct reference to Expert at the Card Table. If you have not read this book I would recommend doing so. A good understanding and practice of that material will help especially with NR1. However, the Bucks are very very very good at explaining things. But it's still pretty tough stuff. Get ready to practice! 4/5 Difficulty.
All of the tricks in the series rely on sleight of hand. There are no gimmicks. Alot of the tricks in here are also in The Trilogy but there are little bonus variations that you won't find anywhere else. It's kind of neat to see where a trick they teach on the Trilogy got it's roots. There are also a couple flourishes that are on the System. I do wish there was a little more content in these but hey, Dan and Dave were still in high school when they wrote them! What were you doing in high school? That's what I thought...
FIVE: 5/5
I know what you're thinking. It's called Five but it's only the fourth. Not so. Before the NR series they had released Artifice Ruse and Subterfuge in The Hands. So there you go. I do not own it so I can't tell you about it. I can't find it either.
Anyway, these notes kick ass! The design alone got the 5/5. It looks kind of like a Frank Miller comic (Sin City). I love the content as well. Once again there are tricks here that can be found on the Trilogy but they look so cool here. You are also taught "Agent Smiths method for shooting a card off the bottom of the deck", the Escargo Display, Meld (so easy and fun), and The Rotated Trick (a variation on a great effect). The methods here are not as difficult as the ones in NR123 in my opinion but they all still rely on sleight of hand and a good knowledge of manipulation. 3/5 Difficulty.
Sleightly Magical: 5/5
If NR123 and FIVE and a baby this is what it would be. The difficulty is more along the lines of NR123 as well as the layout but the content is fantastic as in FIVE. Like it says on the cover "Prepare to Practice": Difficulty 3.75/5. Now I do not flourish (multipacket stuff) as much as I work on sleights and perform tricks so these notes were right up my ally. There are a bunch of great tricks here and once again Dan and Dave do a darn good job explaining the methods. The photos are extremely helpful as well and use perfect angles. Here too you can find tricks from the Trilogy but there is still much more!
Over all I think it's a great value for the price. First of all NR1 is not available anymore and it's only here for a limited time. Second NR2,3 and FIVE sell for $15 each and Sleightly Magical sells for $20. Another reason that it's a great value is that you don't just learn the tricks. Dan and Dave walk you through almost all of the sleights they use for each trick! The methods and effects are so plastic that you can take pieces from one and use them in another. It really allows you to make the trick your own. Also because everything is sleight of hand almost all of the tricks can be done with a borrowed deck anytime anywhere with no gimmicks. Great job guys! 5/5 for the Bundle.
Hope this helps.
Cheers!
p.s. My explanation for the reason behind the name of the notes FIVE is just a guess. db2 do refer to some notes entitled "Artifice Ruse and Subterfuge in The Hands" in NR1. So those notes do precede NR123.
Price: $55
Included: Nursery Rhymes 1,2,3 Five and Sleightly Magical
Let me preface my review by saying I just recently started card manipulation and sleight of hand. I am however a fast learner and feel that there is nothing out of my grasp. Everyone is a beginner at some point. So lets get started.
Nursery Rhymes 1,2,3: 4/5
I am grouping these together because they are all similar in production and content. Infact they refer to one another quite a bit in explanations so it's good to have all three so you can check back and forth. As far as difficulty goes just look at the Title. It is a direct reference to Expert at the Card Table. If you have not read this book I would recommend doing so. A good understanding and practice of that material will help especially with NR1. However, the Bucks are very very very good at explaining things. But it's still pretty tough stuff. Get ready to practice! 4/5 Difficulty.
All of the tricks in the series rely on sleight of hand. There are no gimmicks. Alot of the tricks in here are also in The Trilogy but there are little bonus variations that you won't find anywhere else. It's kind of neat to see where a trick they teach on the Trilogy got it's roots. There are also a couple flourishes that are on the System. I do wish there was a little more content in these but hey, Dan and Dave were still in high school when they wrote them! What were you doing in high school? That's what I thought...
FIVE: 5/5
I know what you're thinking. It's called Five but it's only the fourth. Not so. Before the NR series they had released Artifice Ruse and Subterfuge in The Hands. So there you go. I do not own it so I can't tell you about it. I can't find it either.
Anyway, these notes kick ass! The design alone got the 5/5. It looks kind of like a Frank Miller comic (Sin City). I love the content as well. Once again there are tricks here that can be found on the Trilogy but they look so cool here. You are also taught "Agent Smiths method for shooting a card off the bottom of the deck", the Escargo Display, Meld (so easy and fun), and The Rotated Trick (a variation on a great effect). The methods here are not as difficult as the ones in NR123 in my opinion but they all still rely on sleight of hand and a good knowledge of manipulation. 3/5 Difficulty.
Sleightly Magical: 5/5
If NR123 and FIVE and a baby this is what it would be. The difficulty is more along the lines of NR123 as well as the layout but the content is fantastic as in FIVE. Like it says on the cover "Prepare to Practice": Difficulty 3.75/5. Now I do not flourish (multipacket stuff) as much as I work on sleights and perform tricks so these notes were right up my ally. There are a bunch of great tricks here and once again Dan and Dave do a darn good job explaining the methods. The photos are extremely helpful as well and use perfect angles. Here too you can find tricks from the Trilogy but there is still much more!
Over all I think it's a great value for the price. First of all NR1 is not available anymore and it's only here for a limited time. Second NR2,3 and FIVE sell for $15 each and Sleightly Magical sells for $20. Another reason that it's a great value is that you don't just learn the tricks. Dan and Dave walk you through almost all of the sleights they use for each trick! The methods and effects are so plastic that you can take pieces from one and use them in another. It really allows you to make the trick your own. Also because everything is sleight of hand almost all of the tricks can be done with a borrowed deck anytime anywhere with no gimmicks. Great job guys! 5/5 for the Bundle.
Hope this helps.
Cheers!
p.s. My explanation for the reason behind the name of the notes FIVE is just a guess. db2 do refer to some notes entitled "Artifice Ruse and Subterfuge in The Hands" in NR1. So those notes do precede NR123.
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