"Got A Light?" by Matt Wayne
Suggested Retail USD$35.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

"Got A Light?", a effect by Matt Wayne, is an interesting take on the classic shell game that keeps the flavor of the original while at the same time throwing enough visuals into the mix to make this worth doing for modern audiences.

Now, I love the shell game, I break it out whenever I can, and I know how entertaining it can be with an effective routine. It plays on natural human tendencies -- easy money and a peek behind the curtain -- and it plays very well. Wayne, in one movement, has made the shell game different, more open, and much more visible to larger groups of spectators.

Here's the way it goes: the performer brings out three shot glasses, three small LED lights, and a battery. By touching the LED lights to the battery, the performer shows that two of the lights are red and one is green. The object of this strange little game? Keep track of the green light. The lights are placed on the table, covered with the clear shot glasses, and mixed about. Needless to say, the spectator finds that keeping track of the light is impossible, no matter what happens or how the spectator marks the correct light.

As shell games go, this is definitely a new, different take, at least from the spectators' points of view. Some of us may remember this idea from a previous work by Stephen Tucker. Wayne's work here seems to have begun what Tucker started and released a much more fleshed-out, thought-out routine while using Tucker's idea. Wayne, in effect, gives us a thesis on the idea and covers the moves and psychology of his routine very well.

I have to say I really like "Got A Light?", despite my initial misgivings, which revolved entirely around the props.

Here's the thing: those lights are as common as dirt. You can pick them up from Radio Shack for less than $.50 each, for heaven's sake. As I write this, I see nine of them in my den. They are in computers, PDAs, cell phones, TVs, remotes... well, you get the idea. So with a gaff that is well exposed in normal, everyday life, how in the world could it fool anyone, let alone enough people to make this worth doing?

Said the man who stills swear by a thumb tip regardless of how much exposure is given it.

And therein lies the moment of awakening.

Yes, the lights are common and, if everyone paid attention to such things, this would be an awful routine to try to whip out. But the simple fact is that no one appears to notice this at all. It goes right by the typical spectator (and more than a few that really should know better). And Wayne's routine, with his gambling-based presentation, makes it very much okay if a spectator does have a clue what is going on. It's like someone "in the know" watching someone work a second deal: they know, they know you know, and everybody knows this isn't magic as much as it is an exhibition of a gambling scam.

And in that light (sorry), "Got A Light?" works very well indeed. It's become one of my favorite new toys, a routine to pull out when I want to do something special.

"Got A Light?" has a lot going for it. It's incredibly simple to do (no sleights at all: if you can hold the battery and the lights, you've pretty much mastered the moves for this one). There is no set-up and no reset, so repeating this one is a breeze. The biggest plus, though, is a side-effect of the props: the lights are bright enough that a larger group of people can easily see the proceedings, something that hampers the original shell game. Under most circumstances, "Got A Light?" will play in just about any venue you could ask for.

With the pluses, there are drawbacks but, for most, they are minor. The two things to look out for are the amount of pocket space needed (in addition to the lights and battery, you'll need to carry the three clear glasses) and the table real estate. For the glass requirement, if that space is an issue (and it is for me), you can use any clear cover. The first few times I did this, I used small glass sauce bowls, then I started using the lids off of small plastic boxes. Both of those solved the weight-and-space issue in my pocket and made this more manageable. As for the table space, you'll need about as much as for any shell game, which doesn't translate into a lot of space but some you can easily clear at a dinner table with little issue.

All in all, there are no serious drawbacks here at all and the pluses more than make up for them. And then there's the bigger plus here:

Wayne's foundational work leaves you with a great flexibility in exploration. Or, put another way, there's a ton of stuff you can do with this one, folks.

Wayne touches on one of the basics: the production of another light by way of a faux explanation (naturally, this additional light is the wrong color). But think about this: what if you upgraded things and said you used another light that you "switched" in and then, after the knowing "ahs" from the spectators, showed the light to be blue instead of red or green? How about ditching the premise of the covers entirely and just mixed the things in your hands and tossed them on the table? What if the spectator did it?

Yeah, the mind fairly reels with possibilities.

The biggest positive about "Got A Light?" though, isn't new or original at all. It's simply this: it's remarkably easy to transfer any existing shell or monte presentation you may currently do to "Got A Light?" This makes working this into an existing act quick and easy and still, though it's certainly a new effect to an audience, it's as comfortable as an old pair of shoes to you and that's not a small thing at all.

For all of that -- a neat idea, a thorough exploration of the workings, the psychology, the practicality, and a tremendous flexibility -- "Got A Light?" is one of my favorite routines. If you're looking for something new, different, and yet familiar enough to make a winner, you don't have to look much further than this one.

"Got A Light?" by Matt Wayne
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

Practicality: 9
This packs a bit big -- while the lights and batteries are small enough, you'll need the three shot glasses as well -- and requires a good bit of table space (both of those minor problems to work around). Otherwise, this is extremely practical with no reset, no set-up, and an easy handling.

Workmanship: 10
The four lights and battery are standard, "store-bought" stuff, and well made.

Documentation: 9
Wayne has done his homework here, really fleshing out the basic idea explored by others. It would have been nice to see some additional thinking about the climax of the routine, but otherwise there's little to worry about when it comes to learning this routine.

Effect: 8
This plays very well, better than expected actually. While not a total jaw-dropper, it's entertaining and engaging and gets very good responses all the way around.

Presentation: 8
The presentation is what you'd expect -- a new type of shell game -- and that works well enough. With a good amount of interaction and a very clean handling, this is a fairly powerful piece.

Shane

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