The Pen Game by Jon Allen

The Pen Game by Jon Allen

Six marker pens. Five of them dry. One that works. One that will leave a very permanent mark on whatever it touches next. The tension writes itself.

The Pen Game is Jon Allen's brilliant, completely adaptable take on the Russian Roulette plot, and it is the version that finally makes this classic routine accessible to every kind of performer for every kind of audience. Kids shows, family events, corporate galas, adult comedy nights: it works for all of them, because you control exactly how funny or how genuinely dangerous it feels depending on who is in front of you.

Here is how it plays: six audience members each take a pen. One by one, at your invitation, they hand them back. You run each one across your face, your tie, your shirt, something valuable, or perhaps even across someone else, hoping desperately that each pen is one of the dry ones. And as the surviving pens narrow down to one, the room holds its breath. The final pen, naturally, is the dangerous one.

What makes The Pen Game such a genuinely outstanding routine is how much freedom it gives you as a performer. The props are immediately understood by every audience in the world: everyone knows what a marker pen is, everyone knows what it does, and everyone immediately grasps the stakes without a single word of explanation. That instant premise clarity is something that most stage magic routines spend the first two minutes trying to establish. The Pen Game has it before you say a word.

Because the routine is built around everyday objects rather than a purpose-built magic prop, it also goes anywhere you go without a second thought. No special case. No restricted items. No explaining to airport security. As Chad Long put it the moment he saw it: there's suspense AND humor AND it can go on a plane with me? Brilliant.

Several different performance approaches and routine ideas are covered in the included tutorial, so you can make The Pen Game entirely your own: as broad or as subtle, as silly or as genuinely tense as you want it to be.

Everything needed to perform is included. The only optional addition is a dice shaker if you want to use one, and you will also want something to mark, whether that is a piece of paper, your own shirt, or something belonging to a member of the audience.

"The Pen Game is the most fun, most exciting and most believable of any Russian Roulette routine. A true worker that you can easily make your own." Jon Armstrong

"Such a fun routine with a level of danger that appeals to an audience." John Archer

"There's suspense AND humour AND it can go on a plane with me? Brilliant!" Chad Long

"As soon as I saw this routine, I instantly knew it was going in my show." Eric Leclerc

What's included:

Six specially prepared marker pens (five dry, one working)

Full tutorial covering multiple performance approaches and routine ideas

Please note: paper and an optional dice shaker are not included.

Difficulty: Beginner
Best for: Kids shows, family shows, corporate events, adult comedy magic, stage, parlour