Dice Pyramid

This trick first appeared in the 1940s and disappeared without trace some time later. An ingenious effect, but complicated to make and an extremely unreliable function. Our dear magician friend Max Matheis alias Doctor Marrax, a highly decorated professional and winner of many prizes, found a copy of the trick at a flea market several years ago and restored it for his own purposes. Since then he has enjoyed great success in front of countless spectators over the years and was even among the top places in competitions with this trick. However, one thing remained unchanged: The trick’s function was so critical that the magic wand had to be used on occasions to free a sticking dice – unnoticed by the audience. What does the audience see? The magician presents four dice of different sizes, a tube and two lids. The four dice – black with white pips – are taken out of the tube one at a time and shown to the spectators. The magician stacks the dice to form a pyramid. Logically, the largest at the bottom, then the second largest and so on. This dice pyramid is covered with the tube, and the tube is then closed. The decorative arrow point on all four sides of the tube shows the spectators where the top of the pyramid is. In line with the patter, the tube is now turned over five times. This means that the smallest dice is at the bottom, the pyramid is upside down, and this is clearly indicated by the arrow point on the tube. When the tube is removed, the pyramid stands firmly on its base, the right way up. The largest dice at the bottom, the smallest on top. Has the magician only diverted the audience’s attention in some clever way? The tube is now placed over the pyramid with the arrow point facing upwards, closed and then turned over three times. The pyramid should really be standing upside down, that’s to say with the smallest dice at the bottom – that is the direction shown by the arrow on the tube. The magician removes the tube, the pyramid stands perfectly arranged on the table with the large dice at the bottom. How can that be? It is not possible for the dice to change places in the tube - the tube is simply too narrow. Apart from that, the tube was shown to be empty at the beginning and several times during the trick. Did someone in the audience suggest that the magician turn the tube over only once? The magician says he could do that if he wanted, but he just has to consider whether it’s the right day! But, as the audience is so good, today is one of those days and he would be happy to try it. So the pyramid is again covered with the tube and turned over only once – completely without any diversionary tactics. The situation is now quite clear: The pyramid is upside down, the smallest dice must be at the bottom. The whole pyramid will probably collapse when the tube is removed because the large dice on top makes it unstable. The tension grows, the tube is removed – and the dice stand on the table in the correct order. The large dice at the bottom, the smallest on top. But that is not all: The dice have also changed colour. The bottom dice is green, the next is blue, the third red. Only the smallest dice has remained black and white to remind us how it all was at the beginning. If you want, you can now repeat the effect with the coloured dice. You receive from us everything ready for the presentation in a modern version made from distortion-free plastic. All the weak points of earlier versions have been eliminated, its function is now sensationally good. The dice pyramid cannot slip or topple after it is stacked because the dice are held together magnetically, but can still be separated quite easily. In addition, you will receive Doctor Marrax’s presentation on DVD, recorded at the renowned Circus & Clown Museum in Vienna at the Prater Variety show (Production First Viennese Magic Theatre), a detailed explanation and a free copy of Charly’s successful presentation! Even though you might think that a dice pyramid which is turned over three or four times is no magic sensation – the reactions from the audience will convince and delight you. You will be impressed by the beautiful and detailed craftsmanship from Future Magic when you hold your own copy of the trick in your hands. Size of large dice about 10 x 10 cm, tube height about 29.5 cm.