If you have more than 50 posts on the Magic Cafe, and you enjoyed last year's Free tricks from Leo Boudreau post, you'll be glad to know that Leo Boudreau has just posted another great original free effect!

This new one is called Lie To Me. The effect is that one of four objects is chosen by a spectator, who also decides whether to be a truth-teller or a liar. You then ask them yes-or-no questions about various combinations of the objects. Not only can you divine the object after these questions, but also whether the person was lying or telling the truth!

Beyond the trick itself, the thinking behind the method and the care put into the presentation make this a great effect. The ensuing Cafe discussion about other presentational angles are also worth a read.

While there are calculations involved in the method, they can be eliminated with the use of standard memory techniques, complimented with the use of binary mnemonics. They will also come in handy for many of Leo Boudreau's effects in last year's post, as well.

For those who don't have enough posts to get in and see Lie To Me, there is a similar effect in the book Puzzler's Tribute: A Feast For The Mind (a published tribute to Martin Gardner), called Cubist Magic. As it happens the full effect can be found online for free in Google Books' limited preview of Puzzler's Tribute. Here's the first page, the second page, the third page and the accompanying graphic needed for the routine.

If you like these effects, I definitely recommend going through this post, last year's post (if possible) and purchasing Mr. Boudreau's books to see the wide variety of amazing and clean effects he's created.