Magic supplies in Buckeye, Maricopa County, Arizona

Retirement and 55-plus communities like Sun City Festival have clubhouse nights, holiday parties and resident events, and their audiences are one of the best audiences in magic: attentive, sociable and happy to be fooled. What plays is clean, gentle and well-paced — a mentalism piece with a prediction, a card routine that involves the whole table, a bit of humour. Avoid anything fiddly or tiny that's hard to see from a few rows back. Forcing dice and a PK ring work well; see the mentalism collection.

At the other end of Buckeye's age range, new subdivisions mean a constant stream of house parties and neighbourhood gatherings. Guests want to hold the magic: sponge balls that multiply in their hand, a cane that becomes a bunch of flowers, cups and balls with a big final load. All of those survive being handled by a crowd. Start in the close-up collection.

Buy three props and use them until they're invisible: a self-working deck, sponge balls and a close-up mat — the beginner collection covers them. Then make the drive to a Phoenix Magic Club meeting; watching experienced performers will tell you what's worth buying next far better than a catalogue can.

We found no walk-in magic shop in Buckeye or elsewhere in the West Valley — Easley's, Phoenix's historic costume and magic shop, has announced its closure. Most Valley magicians now order online. Our listings say what ships, whether instructions are included and how much practice each effect takes; unopened items can be returned within 30 days of delivery.

The Phoenix Magic Club — I.B.M. Ring 55 and S.A.M. Assembly 248, the André Kole Assembly — holds a West Valley meeting every month as well as its main meeting in Scottsdale. Goodyear and Avondale are on the way in, Surprise is to the north, and downtown Phoenix has a resident magic show, the Carnival of Illusion, at the Renaissance hotel. Buckeye's distances mean most performers here drive to the work, so pack light.

Buckeye summers are brutal on props. Never leave magic in a parked car: gimmicked decks warp, elastic fails, adhesives let go and plastic deforms. Paper cards soften and clump in hot, sweaty hands, so carry a spare deck to outdoor events and swap between sets. Metal and sponge props cope far better than paper. Events at Skyline Regional Park, Buckeye Days or the city's spring celebration are best scheduled — if you have any say — for evenings.

We deliver to every address in Buckeye — Verrado, Sun City Festival, Tartesso and the historic downtown — and across Maricopa County on the same terms as anywhere else in the US. Most of the range ships directly from our supplier and we don't quote delivery dates. See shipping and returns and refunds.