RIK: Hey, Jim -- watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat.
JIM: Again? That trick never works.
RIK: Nothin' up my sleeve . . . presto!
JIM: Arrggh!! Put it back! Put it back!
RIK: You don't think the wolverine's a nice surprise?
JIM: [Response deemed unsuitable for a kids'-software column. -- Ed.]
RIK: You could be right. Maybe I should tone down my act.
JIM: How about learning a trick or two from a QuickTime tutorial?
RIK: I don't know. The few I've seen have been pretty disappointing.
JIM: Have you checked out Houghton Mifflin Interactive's Inside Magic? It teaches basic sleight-of-hand skills -- stuff like palming coins and false shuffling -- and then combines them to create tricks.
RIK: Yeah, but the how-to movies should have included narration -- and they're so low-quality that you can't see what's going on. The free props are nice, though.
JIM: HarperCollins Interactive's Magic: An Insider's View has much better QuickTime quality.
RIK: But it has other problems.
JIM: Aside from host Harry Anderson's silly escape-trick shtick?
RIK: The how-to sequences are weirdly fractured -- you have to click through multiple movies to figure out a trick.
JIM: Still, it's better than Arc Media's earnest four-volume Magician's Secrets series. Each one teaches only a few tricks -- and they're dull and predictable.
RIK: As much as I hate to say it, Brøderbund's Learn the Art of Magic is the best of the bunch.
JIM: It provides lots of props and tons of tricks -- all clearly explained. What's not to love?
RIK: Who, not What. Jay Alexander, its loud, manic host -- the Paulie Shore of prestidigitation.
JIM: Still, if you can put up with him . . .
RIK: . . . and the incessant "cute" sound effects and video tricks . . .
JIM: . . . you can learn a lot of nifty tricks. There's even a feature that prints a magic-show poster and tickets.
Inside Magic
Rating: Acceptable (3 of 5 mice)
Ages: 10 and up.
Price: CD-ROM, $59.95 (list).
Magic coins, ropes, and cards are supplied, but unnarrated, low-quality QuickTime spoils an otherwise good show-and-tell approach.
A wealth of classic tricks, revealed clearly and informatively, plus a good assortment of props. If only obnoxious host Jay Alexander would have remembered his Prozac . . . .
Company: Brøderbund, Novato, CA; 415-382-4400.
Reader Service: Circle #416.
Magic: An Insider's View
Rating: Acceptable/Very Good (3.5 of 5 mice)
Ages: 10 and up.
Price: CD-ROM, $39.95 (list).
Host Harry Anderson hams it up, but another magician teaches tricks -- in an oddly disorganized way. Great background on famous magicians.
Company: HarperCollins Interactive, New York, NY; 212-207-7000.
Reader Service: Circle #417.
Magician's Secrets, Volumes 1 - 4
Rating: Acceptable (3 of 5 mice)
Ages: 8 and up.
Price: CD-ROM, $19.95 per volume (list).
Modestly priced CD-ROMs reveal tricks in a clear manner, but eight to ten tricks per volume feels skimpy and many tricks are so simple that QuickTime treatment is overkill.
