In this way, the Chief may choose to play solo, by naming one of his own cards as the partner card. If the Chief does choose to play solo, he should receive a 1-column score bonus if he is successful.
This variant should add new subtleties to the game as the player holding the named card may try to keep this fact secret for as long as possible while the Vice and allies may deliberately play so as to drive it out.
This is to prevent unusual collusion to punish a leader. Without this rule, suppose one player has 180 points and the other four each have 60. If the four players agree, they can create a 12 card éclat. One player will lose 120 points, but three others will earn 60. They can continue to do this until all reach 180 points. The leader cannot prevent this since if he ever joins tie bid, he will simply be allowed to lose it.
After a game, shuffle the deck and draw a card. Multiply this number by 10. If this value plus any player's score exceeds 200, the game is over. Otherwise, play another hand.