Magic tricks for 10-year-olds

Magic at 10

At ten the maths tricks start to make sense from the inside. The 1089 trick is place value, the secret number cards are binary, the calendar trick is the nine times table, and a ten-year-old can work out why each one never fails. That makes them better tricks, because the magician is never worried.

Ten-year-olds can perform for a whole room: a class, a party, a talent show. The tricks here include the routines that read from the back row, and every one has an out, the line to say when something goes wrong. A ten-year-old who learns the outs stops being nervous.

By level, 21 Apprentice (works the first try), 29 Conjurer (a little practice) and 7 Wizard (days of practice). They come off 6 shelves of the shop, most from The Card Cabinet (15) and The Mind Reader's Corner (14). What you need most often: cards (15), paper (15), a coin (12), and 4 tricks need nothing at all. 4 tricks have a step a grown-up does (something hot or a bright light), and 15 tricks carry the choking note for brothers and sisters under 4. The quickest to learn is The Answer Is Always 3 (2 minutes); the longest is The Two-Coin Jump (3 to 5 days).

Buying a magic set for a 10-year-old? Read which magic kit, honestly first: most tricks on this page need only what is already in the house.