In the days of yore, magicians would carry strange, little plastic envelopes that held a few playing cards. Often these cards had weird and unusual images on them such as eight balls or a picture of a man holding a wad of money saying, “You owe me $14!” Or the cards would be gaffed to the hilt. These were called packet tricks. The chief purveyors of these mini-mysteries were Art Emerson and Larry West. Rumor had it that they made a fortune with Color Monte. For the most part, packet tricks have fallen out of favor, but they are still around.

I believe that a packet trick us the best way to describe Jeff Stone's Kingside Castling. I could see it being sold in a little plastic envelope next to others at the Emerson and West booth with the traditional little teeny, tiny page of instructions. Instead what you receive are a set of gaffed cards, a nicely produced booklet and a secret code to access on-line videos. Well let me correct what I just wrote - this is what I received. If you order it from Mr. Stone's website, you receive a video download at a much lower price point. The package I received is priced at $19.95 while the download is $3.99. You can also download it as part of a set of downloads for about the price of the package I am holding. Lots of choice for the buyer but a challenge for a reviewer. The answer to the question “Is this a good value for your magical dollar?” becomes “maybe...it depends.”

In keeping with our motto of blatant honesty, I need to point out that Mr. Stone is another of the MLA’s Official Reviewers. However, I do not know Jeff other than through his reviews. Our mutual connection to this site has not influenced this review.

The effect grew out of a Sankey competition entry that caught Jay’s eye and earned Jeff a weekend brainstorming with Jay and a few others. In a nutshell, the performer shows four of a kind and has one signed. It's placed under the spectator’s hand. It “vanishes” and reappears under the magician’s. Then, as a kicker, all the rest of the cards turn blank. I say “vanishes” as it's not so much a vanish as a transposition or change as the card they are covering is now blank. It's not the most straight-forward plot but it is a nice contained magical interlude. It's a solid middle effect that could be sandwiched between a stronger opener and closer. You will need to figure out how to get the gaffed cards in and out of play.

The required sleights are within the reach of most. If you've been around anytime, they are already in your repertoire. If not, they are covered in the booklet. I can’t speak to the download.

If the effect appeals to you and you have a stock of gaffed cards in your magic drawer, the download may be your best option. If not, then the full package may be your choice - if it's still available. It isn't listed on Jeff’s site but some dealers may have it. Or as a third option, you can get the download and take a trip to your favorite dealer for a deck of the required gaffs for about $7.00. Oh! And don’t forget about the fourth option - the multiple effect download collection. The choice is yours.