I love exploring various concepts and methods in a particular genre or effect. The latest exploration I've enjoyed involves the Free Will concept, originally from Deddy Corbuzier.
I was introduced to the routine by reading Mark Chandaue's book, Totally Free Will, when it was released by Haresign Press in the U.K( see THIS blog post from November, 2020). Simple in concept, and simple to perform, with unlimited possibilities about how to perform it. Plus, I enjoyed the "jazz" part of the routine, and working out all of the possibilities.
The padded hardcover went out of print quickly, but thankfully Mark has reprinted the book in softcover, and granted me the rights to sell it within the U.S., for a short time before other dealers get it. Take a look HERE.
The original Free Will trick, as released by Paul Richards' Elmwood Magic, used three wooden nickels, each with a different ESP symbol on the back.
The basic effect is that the magician lays out 3 objects. The spectator keeps one for himself, gives one to the magician, and the third either remains on the table or is placed into a bag or envelope. When the prediction is read, it tells exactly where each item was predicted to end up. Is it free will, or fate?
The wooden nickels are nice, but some of the more recent ones have very faded printing on the coins. You can see the sets HERE.
While at Magifest 2024, I performed Free Will with some coins that a friend of mine made for me using his laser engraver. Being a seller of primarily books, my coins had my logo on one side, and a blank book on the reverse, each of which I colored a separate color. I think I did a demo of the trick at least 50 times, to show magicians how adaptable this principle can be.
On the spot at Magifest, I took three business cards from Jeff Kowalk (Erudite Magic), and created another fun version of the routine. I started with all 4 cards facedown, and put the prediction aside for a moment. I mixed up the other three facedown cards (before anyone even knew what was on them), and proceeded with the routine. Jeff laughed at it, and said to "go ahead and use it as your demo." So I did.
I recently received the new booklet by Gabriel Werlen, the author of The Green Neck System, titled A Double Tour. The first routine he teaches is the Free Will routine, but there is no ambiguity about who reads the prediction, yet it is always 100% correct. Kind of a new concept about how the prediction is written, and then also how it is shown.
The last product I have carried on the Free Will principle is from Dead Rebel Magic out of the U.K. He makes and sells an effect called Free William Hicks. It uses antique ceramic poker chips, a real leather tobacco pouch, and a nicely printed prediction. They are so nice that I sold completely out of them at Magifest, but have more on order. It will appear back on my site when the new ones arrive.
Other ideas for utilizing Free Will into your shows can be found here:
Alexander Marsh's routine, Thy Will Be Done, with the final revelation shown on a Tarot Card.
The Jerx also had a post about changing the revelation to make more sense. You can read the post, and decide for yourself if it fits you better.
Mark Dela came up with a routine titled Will To Read, where the torn-out page is used as the prediction, and then for a simple book test. A nice combination of tricks.
Finally, my friend, Eric, used his laser printed to print me out some small discs with ESP symbols on the back side. Other than the prediction paper, this is an item I carry with me quite often, especially while doing strolling gigs at fairs and events.
If you ever want something done on a laser printer, feel free to contact Eric by emailing him HERE. He's done quite a few pieces for me, and will probably do more in the future.
And now I move on to the next variation, or maybe even a completely different topic altogether. I don't know, but that's the fun of having so many magic books pass through my place here.
Thanks for sharing your reading time with me, and until next time, don't just collect your magic books, read them.
Don
POSTSCRIPT
After writing this article, I came across 3 more variations that I already own.
Equilibrium is available from me, but the others you'll have to search the internet if you want to know more about them.