Fuel by Lloyd Barnes and Craig Petty

Fuel by Lloyd Barnes and Craig Petty

The spectator sees the lighter go into their hand. They feel it sitting there. It is rigid. It has weight. It has the unmistakable texture of a real lighter. And when they open their hand, it is their signed card. That is Fuel. And yes, we know how that sounds.

Craig Petty and Lloyd Barnes took one of magic's most beloved plots, the object that transforms into a playing card, and pushed it further than anyone thought possible. Not just further than anyone had done it before. Further than most people believed was achievable with a prop this familiar and this tactile.

Here is the full routine: a card is selected and signed. It goes back into the deck. A lighter the performer has been using throughout the show is placed into the spectator's hands. The card vanishes from the deck. And then the kicker: "Would it be amazing if your card appeared under the lighter? Would it be amazing if your card appeared inside the lighter? Would it be amazing if your card became the lighter?" A statement that makes no sense whatsoever, because they watched it go into their hand and they can still feel it sitting there.

Then they open their hands. The lighter is gone. In its place is a piece of wobbly card paper with a lighter print on one side and their signature on the other.

And here is the part that floors even experienced magicians: Craig did not even use a real lighter for most of the performances filmed for the trailer. No real lighter to manage. No awkward switch. No need to light anything beforehand to sell the illusion. The gimmick alone does the convincing. Every single performance filmed made the final cut because every single reaction was exactly what you would expect from an impossible moment like this.

Forty gimmicks are included in each package, split across two completely different versions of the effect.

The Big Lighter Gimmick is built for the visual change. The spectator watches as you hold the lighter, staring right at it, until the moment you decide to unfold it and reveal their signature on the back.

The Mini Lighter Gimmick is built for the in-the-hands version. It goes into the spectator's own closed fist where they are completely convinced they are holding a lighter, until they open their hands to discover the impossible sitting there.

Two experiences. One beautifully simple idea. Forty gimmicks so you are never short and never caught without one ready.

What's included:

20 Big Lighter Gimmicks (visual change version)

20 Mini Lighter Gimmicks (in-the-hands version)

Full video tutorial with Craig Petty and Lloyd Barnes covering both versions, the optional real lighter handling, and performance tips

Difficulty: Beginner
Best for: Close-up, walk-around, street magic, social media content, restaurant magic