About
Amalgam by Marc Kerstein is a comprehensive mentalism and magic performance app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It consolidates a diverse collection of high-quality effects into one polished application, eliminating the need for multiple separate apps during live performances. Each effect is crafted to be both powerful and performer-friendly, with detailed in-app instructions and extensive customisation options. The app includes: **Streets**, a location-divination book test requiring no memory work; **TimedOut**, a hands-free prediction effect supporting numbers, dice, ESP symbols, and star signs with no internet or Bluetooth required; **Watch**, a time-revelation effect using a customisable photograph; **Word Search**, a superhuman-memory demonstration where spectators hold the phone; **Inertia**, which forces text, photos, or videos on any real website without hiding the screen; **OneStopShop**, a fully customisable product-force tool with built-in card and clothing presets; **ChoiceMail**, a coded audio-message revelation featuring AGT winner Shin Lim's voice presets; and **Amped**, a technology-demonstration effect that ends completely clean. Amalgam is ideal for professional and semi-professional mentalists, stage magicians, and close-up performers who want a reliable, all-in-one digital toolkit. The app is free to download with in-app purchases for additional content.
Key Features
- TimedOut — Hands-Free Prediction: Predict a number, dice roll, ESP symbol, or star sign. After setting the prediction, the performer never touches the phone again — no internet or Bluetooth required.
- Inertia — Real Website Forces: Force specific text, photos, or videos on any real website without hiding the screen, enabling compelling prediction and revelation effects using live content.
- Streets — Location Divination: Divine where in the world a spectator is thinking of using a modernised real map and an optional gyro crib. A book test with no memory work, supporting all languages.
- Extensive Customisation: Every effect includes customisation settings — use your own photos, create custom presets, and tailor reveals to your personal performance style.
- Community Tips & Routines: An in-app community section lets performers share and discover user-submitted tips, combinations, and full routines built around Amalgam's effects.
Use Cases
- Stage mentalists performing prediction and divination routines for live audiences without additional hardware.
- Close-up magicians incorporating digital effects alongside physical card or object magic for a hybrid performance.
- Corporate entertainers impressing clients with technology-themed mentalism that appears to demonstrate superhuman abilities.
- Semi-professional performers building full routines using community-shared tips and combinations across Amalgam's eight effects.
- Hobbyist magicians learning and performing accessible, no-memory-work effects directly from a single iPhone app.
Pros
- All-in-One Toolkit: Combines eight distinct, high-quality effects in a single app, reducing the number of apps a performer needs to manage during a show.
- No Extra Hardware Required: Most effects work entirely from the phone with no internet, Bluetooth, or additional props — making the setup minimal and the performance clean.
- Spectator-Held Phone: Several effects (TimedOut, Watch, Word Search) are designed so the spectator holds the phone throughout, adding credibility and fairness to the performance.
Cons
- Apple Ecosystem Only: Amalgam is exclusive to Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac), so performers on Android or Windows have no access.
- In-App Purchases Required for Full Access: The base app is free, but unlocking all effects and premium features requires additional purchases, which can add up.
- Niche Use Case: The app is purpose-built for mentalists and magicians, limiting its appeal to a specialised audience of performers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Amalgam require an internet connection to perform effects?
Most effects, such as TimedOut, work entirely offline with no internet or Bluetooth required. Effects like Inertia that involve real websites do require an active connection.
Is Amalgam suitable for beginner performers?
Yes. Each effect includes detailed in-app instructions and is designed to be powerful yet easy to perform. No advanced technical knowledge or memory work is required for most effects.
Can I customise the effects with my own content?
Yes. Many effects support custom photos, presets, and settings. For example, Watch lets you use your own photograph, and OneStopShop lets you create custom product-force presets.
What devices is Amalgam compatible with?
Amalgam is available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision. It is not available on Android or other non-Apple platforms.
Who developed Amalgam and what effects are included?
Amalgam was developed by Marc Kerstein and includes eight effects: Streets (with permission from John Archer), TimedOut, Watch, Word Search (by Harry De Cruz), Inertia, OneStopShop, ChoiceMail, and Amped.
