The Stranger is an app by Jonathan Levit, allowing you to make a call to a stranger. The stranger then reveals any information from a spectator such as a playing card, word from a booktest, or a random number. Any piece of information can be revealed.

You can find more info on the official website of The Stranger app: https://thestrangerapp.com

Performing CubeSmith with The Stranger

First of all: you need to own both CubeSmith and The Stranger in order to perform the following effects. There are 3 different ways you can perform the routines:

 

using a bluetooth cube

using the virtual cube in CubeSmith

using the WEB-cube on the spectator’s phone (detailed guide coming soon)

Watch another video here: The Stranger Instruction-CubeSmith on Vimeo

 

The setup

 

Open the CubeSmith app, click on your username, and you’ll see your personal account info. Under your username and PIN you’ll find your Secret Key, which you can copy to the clipboard. By the way, this also works with the free DEMO version of CubeSmith.

Open the Stranger app, go to Settings, Revelations, CubeSmith. Enter (or paste) your Secret Key and save it by tapping outside of the field (it will save automatically).

 

You should also enable and select the fake Homescreen background.

 

 

Perform using a bluetooth cube

 

Open the CubeSmith app, connect your bluetooth cube, and select routine “Prediction only“.

Set the timer (wait after mixing) to 10 seconds or more. For the secret screen you can choose anything… you won’t see it during performance. You can also turn on the Audio Guide if you want to get audible feedback.

Start the routine and minimize the app (send it to the background with the Home button).

Open the Stranger app, select your preferred method (I suggest 2 convincers + the live Stranger), and start the routine. You will see the fake Homescreen… now you can lock your phone with the Power button. Ready to perform! In the meantime your Stranger should be standby, with one or two solved (regular) cubes ready to be mixed.

Give the bluetooth cube to a spectator, ask them to mix the cube with 15-20 turns. When they are ready, the timer will go off (in 10 seconds or more), and the state of the cube will be saved online (just like when you perform the prediction effect).

Now you can take out your phone, unlock it, and ask the spectator to touch the Phone icon (on the fake Homescreen). As soon as the dial pad shows up, the secret text message with the special URL will be sent to the Stranger.

Your Stranger should open the URL in their mobile browser, and follow the instructions to mix their ordinary cube…

In the meantime you proceed with dialing the first 2 convincers…. and finally you call your live Stranger. By this time they should be ready mixing the cube, and hiding it in a drawer or closet.

Now it’s time for acting….. using a Facetime call. Finally the Stranger will show you the cube which was hiding in their closet for a long time…. and magically it’s pattern will match the cube that your spectator has just mixed!!! 🙂 WOOOWW!!! Minds blown, jaws dropped… ENJOY YOUR SUCCESS!!! 😀

 

Perform using the virtual cube

If you don’t have your bluetooth cube with you, you can also perform the matching cube trick with the virtual cube (although it is not that mind blowing as if you were using a real cube).

To do this you shall select routine “Virtual cube predicted” in CubeSmith. Everything else goes the same way as described above, except your spectator will mix the virtual cube on your phone… When they are ready mixing, you can switch back to the Stranger app (showing the fake Homescreen). Again, this will not be that magical and also could be a bit suspicious, because you will have to switch to the Stranger app in front of the spectator’s eyes…

Anyway, you can use the virtual cube to get some practice.