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Empathy by Ludovic Simonet, Sylvain Vip, and Maxime Schucht

Created by: Ludovic Simonet, Sylvain Vip, Maxime Schucht

Empathy is a revolutionary deck of cards designed for mind-reading and emotional connection magic. Each card features an emotion and associated words, allowing performers to reveal thoughts, duplicate drawings, and divine neutral words without any prior setup. This versatile tool works for close-up, parlor, or stage performances, offering multiple layers of methods in a compact, easy-to-use format. The deck includes cheat cards for quick reference, ensuring smooth performances even if you forget a detail. Perfect for magicians who want to engage audiences on a deeper emotional level.

Key features

  • Double-marked cards for versatile use

  • Includes cheat cards for quick reference

  • Works for close-up, parlor, or stage magic

  • Multiple independent effects can be performed in any order

  • Clever method for revealing neutral words without setup

Pros

  • Highly versatile and adaptable to different performance styles

  • Minimal memory required thanks to cheat cards

  • Engages audiences emotionally

  • Compact and easy to carry

  • Powerful effects with minimal setup

Cons

  • Artwork may appear simplistic or childish to some

  • Requires framing as an experiment or thematic element to justify design

Effect

Empathy is a deck of cards designed for mind reading and emotional connection effects. The audience sees a deck with emotions and associated words on each card. The magician can reveal a word the spectator is thinking, duplicate a drawing in their mind, or divine a neutral word without any prior information. The effects appear as if the performer can read thoughts and emotions with uncanny accuracy.

Full details

The Empathy deck contains 50 cards, each displaying eight words linked to specific emotions. This setup provides roughly 400 possible words for mentalism effects. The deck includes cheat cards for quick reference, allowing performers to refresh their memory without breaking the routine. The cards are double-marked, meaning they can be used in a shuffled state or as part of a stacked deck. The design is simple, with each card featuring an emotion and related words, making it easy to integrate into performances.

Who should consider the trick

Empathy is ideal for magicians who perform mentalism or want to add psychological elements to their shows. It suits close-up, parlor, and stage performers. Those who enjoy interactive routines with audience participation will find this deck valuable. The trick is also suitable for performers who prefer minimal setup and maximum impact.

Information on how difficult it is to perform

The methods in Empathy are straightforward. AlexisReviews notes that the techniques are simple and easy to perform. The cheat cards provide quick reminders, reducing the need for extensive memorization. The difficulty level is rated as two stars out of four, making it accessible to intermediate performers and even beginners with some practice.

What magicians say

AlexisReviews praises Empathy for its clever design and versatility. He highlights the neutral word revelation as particularly impressive, calling the method behind it "so clever." He also appreciates the deck's adaptability, stating, "You can adapt it to your own character, your own magic." The quality of the cards and the multiple layers of methods are also commended. The only minor drawback mentioned is the simplistic artwork, which can be explained as part of an experimental theme. Overall, Alexis gives the deck four hearts out of four, calling it "a great thing."

What people are saying about Empathy

AlexisReviews says...

Empathy is like having a book test in close-up. The neutral word revelation is so clever—my wife could find the word each time after reading it just once. [...] The methods are simple, and the deck is incredibly versatile for close-up, parlor, or stage.

Review videos