You are trapped on a desert island and one day a powerful Genii appears. He asks you if you would like to play a game using chess pieces. If you win he will transport you off the island. Great you say. And if you lose, you will stay trapped on the island. And Oh yeah..you have to do his laundry every Tuesday for the rest of your life.
The Genii says he has made a prediction on a piece of paper ( paper sticking out of bottle).
You will follow random instructions on a card. You will decide where to move your token. When finished the prediction will be opened. If it matches you win. If not..oh well
A prediction is placed in front of the player. The Genii shows you the board , pieces and token and hands you the move card. Follow the instructions. Good luck!
Secret: Just make sure you set the board up as shown and you are ready to go. Just predict the black knight and tell the story.
An alternative presentation would be would be for the magician to have his or her back to the board, or be blindfolded, and call out the instructions. Magician pretends to get mental impressions to guide the token to the prediction. You just has to memorize the card or secretly read it. Also red and black playing cards can be used instead of chess pieces. Use the chessboard set up as a template and substitute red cards where there are white pieces. I will show more complicated and puzzling versions if there is enough interest. Have fun!
