Magic tricks for 11-year-olds

Magic at 11

At eleven the easy tricks start to feel easy, so the page leaves them out and shows the ones that still ask something: the Wizard routines, the longer mind-reading tricks and the restorations. Fewer tricks fit than at eight or nine, and each one takes more work.

This is the age to stop copying the words and write your own. An eleven-year-old can plan a show around a story, choose a stage name and a style, and practise misdirection on purpose. Magic School covers all three, in seven short lessons.

By level, 3 Apprentice (works the first try), 22 Conjurer (a little practice) and 7 Wizard (days of practice). They come off 5 shelves of the shop, most from The Mind Reader's Corner (11) and The Coin Counter (9). What you need most often: paper (12), a coin (9), a pencil (6), and 2 tricks need nothing at all. 1 trick has a step a grown-up does (something hot or a bright light), and 10 tricks carry the choking note for brothers and sisters under 4. The quickest to learn is The Grey Elephant Prediction (3 minutes); the longest is The Two-Coin Jump (3 to 5 days).

Buying a magic set for an 11-year-old? Read which magic kit, honestly first: most tricks on this page need only what is already in the house.