This Activity is meant for Boy Scouts.

Nine magazines, sheets of paper, or similarly shaped rectangles
A staff, broomstick, or long stick

The idea of this activity is to improve observation skills but it can be pushed too far and make a few scouts feel bad. It is somewhat like the Jimmy Jimmy activity where scouts try to find the hidden bit of information in what is happening right in front of them.

Two scouts that know the secret need to start. One scout is the leader and has the magic pointing staff. The second scout volunteers to be the guesser.

Lay out the nine magazines in three rows of three, forming a rectangle on the floor like so:

  X   X   X
  X   X   X
  X   X   X

Have one scout leave the room while the rest choose one of the nine magazines. Let's say you chose "O" below:

  X   X   X
  X   X   X
  X   X   O

The scout returns to the room.
As you tap on each magazine with your staff, he says, "No, not that one" for each magazine until you tap on the correct one and he says, "Yes, that's the one."

Ask the group if they'd like you to use your magic again. Have the volunteer leave and repeat the trick. Continue this until another scout believes he knows how to do it and is willing to be the guesser. Have him leave, choose a magazine, and see if he can guess it.

The trick is in the location where you tap each magazine cover. For our example above, you would tap each magazine in the lower-right corner.

It can be very difficult to figure out this trick. Make the location on the cover more obvious each time. Or, try it with 4 magazines. It's better to stop after a bit more than half the group has figured it out.