When Ed Marlo created his Olram Subtlety for apparently cleanly displaying the backs of all the cards in a small packet (while craftily hiding half of them), it spurred the creation of many packet mental effects, notable Al Cohen's Dot's Impossible, and of course, Nick Trost's Eight Card Brainwave.  Over the years, the same basic Olram handling has been applied to many different packets of specially printed cards.  Well, here's another very fun one from Steve Hollifield. 

Steve calls this trick "Cereal Brainwave", but I'm a sucker for alliteration, so I have re-dubbed it "Breakfast Brainwave".  Either way, it is fun and has instant nostalgic interest for most audiences because of our collectively shared experience with the myriad breakfast cereals we ate as children (or even still eat as adults!)

The mentalist shows eight specially printed cards that feature colorful pics of ceral boxes.  The spectator chooses her favorite, or maybe her least favorite, or just one at random -- whatever one she chooses is set aside on the table.  The remaining seven cards are shown to all have blue backs, and the one freely chosen cereal card is turned facedown to show it is the only one with a RED back.  If you are working a paid gig, you could then present the spectator with a small box of the same cereal as a souvenir!  (Just have all eight of them ready to give away in your closeup case).

This trick plays well for adults (because of the nostalgic element) and plays great for kids also, because they love cereal and the plot is simple and straightforward.  Great for table hopping or strolling, too, as the trick instantly resets for the next table or group.

Cards are printed on a bit heavier stock than playing cards, and are extra durable as a result.  They still handle perfectly, just  like playing cards.  The back design features bold starbursts rays of color -- red and blue.  

Highly recommended.

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