A guide to Croquet
Croquet is a lawn game, played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport. It involves hitting plastic or wooden balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the US) embedded into the grass playing court. There are many variations on the Rules and Regulations of Croquet, including competitive and social forms. The North American and International Association rules vary significantly in many aspects but nonetheless use the same croquet equipment and court set up. It's a sport suitable for all ages and both sexes and one of the few sports that men and women can play on equal terms. It has a really good handicapping system which, more than any other sport, is a genuine leveler.
The Playing Field
Court size is officially 100 feet long by 50 feet wide for nine wicket and 105 feet long by 84 feet wide for six wicket, but who's counting?
If you're playing nine wicket, which is known as backyard croquet, create a double diamond formation by placing a wicket at the exact center of the court, flanking it with opposing wickets on each side (about 16 feet up/down and 20 feet out from the exact center), and then add a wicket-wicket-stake setup at the center on each end (each six feet apart, with the stake six feet from the boundary line).
If you're playing six wicket, which is known as American croquet, place a stake at the center of the court and then form two inward-facing wicket triangles on either end (the triangle tips facing the stake and the bases facing the top/bottom boundary lines).
Equipment
Golf croquet features the same croquet balls and mallets as other croquet games, but teams/players compete to earn points by being the first and only ball to clear each wicket. Chances are though that you're looking to enjoy a standard four-player croquet game or six-player croquet game. Croquet is usually played as a backyard lawn game, so the rules can be pretty casual, but croquetters who want to play the real thing should stick to these fundamental rules.
   Mallets with 30" handles and 8-1/2" heads
   Polymer balls 3-5/16" diameter
   Plastic coated wickets
   2 goal stakes
How to Play
The point of croquet, of course, is to use your mallet to hit your ball through the wickets and into the stake(s), and finish doing so before your opponent(s). Croquet is usually played as a team, with two or three people to a side. The order of play is always blue, red, black, yellow, followed by green and orange if six croquet balls are being used. In team play, blue/black/green goes against red/yellow/orange.
Each player has one shot per turn but can earn extra shots by scoring a wicket or by striking another ball, which is known as roquet. Scoring earns one bonus shot and roquetting earns two. New bonus shots can only be earned on the final bonus shot, and there's a limit of two at once.
With the optional "deadness" rule, a roquetted ball can't be struck for a bonus again unless the striking player has first scored another wicket. If a ball stops out of bounds, place it inside the boundary in a direct line from its position.
Scoring
Croquet wickets have to be run in the proper order and in the right direction.
Nine wicket: bottom two up, bottom right, center, top right, top two up, stake, top two down, top left, center, bottom left, bottom two down, stake.
Six wicket: bottom left, top left, top right, bottom right, bottom center, top center, top left, bottom left, bottom right, top right, top center, bottom center (up), stake.
Finally, with the rover ball rule, a ball that has scored all wickets but not staked out can be used to roquet balls. If it hits the stake or is knocked into the stake, the rover ball is out of the game. The "deadness" rule applies to rover balls, which must run ANY wicket in ANY direction to remove deadness.
Association Croquet (Another form of Croquet)
Association Croquet is a challenging and intriguing sport requiring tactical ability, judgment and skill rather than strength and fast reflexes. The game is played as singles or doubles but in either case the blue and black balls always play against the red and yellow balls. In singles, each player uses both balls, in doubles one each.
The Object of the Game is to make both balls of your side pass through all the hoops in order and then hit the peg before your opponent. The first hoop has a blue top and the last hoop to be run, 'rover' has a red top. After the sixth hoop, you run the six hoops again in the reverse direction; hence they are named 'one-back, two-back', etc. until the 'penultimate' hoop and finally rover. See diagram for the route.Colored clips are placed on the hoops to remind players (and show spectators) which hoop a has to run next. They are placed on top for the first time through, on the side for the return journey.
To Begin a Game the balls are played onto the lawn one at a time, alternatively each side, from either A or B baulk (see diagram below). After that the player can choose which ball to play during each turn. At the beginning of a turn a player has only one stroke but, depending on what you do, you may gain extra strokes. If your ball hits another ball it is called a 'roquet' and you earn the right to take 'croquet', the stroke that is unique to the game of Croquet and where the fun really begins.
The Croquet Stroke is played immediately following a roquet. You pick up your ball and place it touching the ball you have roqueted. You are then entitled to two more strokes. For the first, you strike your ball in any direction you choose, but ensuring that the other ball moves and provided neither ball goes off the lawn you can play a second, or continuation, stroke. The croquet stroke is the most exciting stroke in the game and can be played in numerous ways to control both balls. By varying the angle at which you strike and the degree of force and the follow-through applied a skillful player can send both balls to very accurate destinations which will enable the break to be continued.Building a Break is made possible by earning these extra strokes. At the beginning of a turn you may roquet the other three balls and take croquet from them just once but the moment you run a hoop in order you may roquet the all three balls again. Thus it is possible to run several hoops in one turn. Skillful players often run all twelve hoops in one turn; they may even manage to send their partner ball through some of its hoops. This is called 'peeling' and forms an important part of the Advanced form of the game. In case you are thinking this seems too complicated, don't be disheartened, there are simpler forms of the game. Golf croquet, one-ball and short croquet are versions which have their own particular requirements of skill and tactics. See the Golf Croquet leaflet.
The Lawn: a full-size lawn is 35 by 28 yards. Size can vary, especially for garden croquet, but it is a good idea to keep the 5:4 ratios.
The Playing Field
Court size is officially 100 feet long by 50 feet wide for nine wicket and 105 feet long by 84 feet wide for six wicket, but who's counting?
If you're playing nine wicket, which is known as backyard croquet, create a double diamond formation by placing a wicket at the exact center of the court, flanking it with opposing wickets on each side (about 16 feet up/down and 20 feet out from the exact center), and then add a wicket-wicket-stake setup at the center on each end (each six feet apart, with the stake six feet from the boundary line).
If you're playing six wicket, which is known as American croquet, place a stake at the center of the court and then form two inward-facing wicket triangles on either end (the triangle tips facing the stake and the bases facing the top/bottom boundary lines).
Equipment
Golf croquet features the same croquet balls and mallets as other croquet games, but teams/players compete to earn points by being the first and only ball to clear each wicket. Chances are though that you're looking to enjoy a standard four-player croquet game or six-player croquet game. Croquet is usually played as a backyard lawn game, so the rules can be pretty casual, but croquetters who want to play the real thing should stick to these fundamental rules.
   Mallets with 30" handles and 8-1/2" heads
   Polymer balls 3-5/16" diameter
   Plastic coated wickets
   2 goal stakes
How to Play
The point of croquet, of course, is to use your mallet to hit your ball through the wickets and into the stake(s), and finish doing so before your opponent(s). Croquet is usually played as a team, with two or three people to a side. The order of play is always blue, red, black, yellow, followed by green and orange if six croquet balls are being used. In team play, blue/black/green goes against red/yellow/orange.
Each player has one shot per turn but can earn extra shots by scoring a wicket or by striking another ball, which is known as roquet. Scoring earns one bonus shot and roquetting earns two. New bonus shots can only be earned on the final bonus shot, and there's a limit of two at once.
With the optional "deadness" rule, a roquetted ball can't be struck for a bonus again unless the striking player has first scored another wicket. If a ball stops out of bounds, place it inside the boundary in a direct line from its position.
Scoring
Croquet wickets have to be run in the proper order and in the right direction.
Nine wicket: bottom two up, bottom right, center, top right, top two up, stake, top two down, top left, center, bottom left, bottom two down, stake.
Six wicket: bottom left, top left, top right, bottom right, bottom center, top center, top left, bottom left, bottom right, top right, top center, bottom center (up), stake.
Finally, with the rover ball rule, a ball that has scored all wickets but not staked out can be used to roquet balls. If it hits the stake or is knocked into the stake, the rover ball is out of the game. The "deadness" rule applies to rover balls, which must run ANY wicket in ANY direction to remove deadness.
Association Croquet (Another form of Croquet)
Association Croquet is a challenging and intriguing sport requiring tactical ability, judgment and skill rather than strength and fast reflexes. The game is played as singles or doubles but in either case the blue and black balls always play against the red and yellow balls. In singles, each player uses both balls, in doubles one each.
The Object of the Game is to make both balls of your side pass through all the hoops in order and then hit the peg before your opponent. The first hoop has a blue top and the last hoop to be run, 'rover' has a red top. After the sixth hoop, you run the six hoops again in the reverse direction; hence they are named 'one-back, two-back', etc. until the 'penultimate' hoop and finally rover. See diagram for the route.Colored clips are placed on the hoops to remind players (and show spectators) which hoop a has to run next. They are placed on top for the first time through, on the side for the return journey.
To Begin a Game the balls are played onto the lawn one at a time, alternatively each side, from either A or B baulk (see diagram below). After that the player can choose which ball to play during each turn. At the beginning of a turn a player has only one stroke but, depending on what you do, you may gain extra strokes. If your ball hits another ball it is called a 'roquet' and you earn the right to take 'croquet', the stroke that is unique to the game of Croquet and where the fun really begins.
The Croquet Stroke is played immediately following a roquet. You pick up your ball and place it touching the ball you have roqueted. You are then entitled to two more strokes. For the first, you strike your ball in any direction you choose, but ensuring that the other ball moves and provided neither ball goes off the lawn you can play a second, or continuation, stroke. The croquet stroke is the most exciting stroke in the game and can be played in numerous ways to control both balls. By varying the angle at which you strike and the degree of force and the follow-through applied a skillful player can send both balls to very accurate destinations which will enable the break to be continued.Building a Break is made possible by earning these extra strokes. At the beginning of a turn you may roquet the other three balls and take croquet from them just once but the moment you run a hoop in order you may roquet the all three balls again. Thus it is possible to run several hoops in one turn. Skillful players often run all twelve hoops in one turn; they may even manage to send their partner ball through some of its hoops. This is called 'peeling' and forms an important part of the Advanced form of the game. In case you are thinking this seems too complicated, don't be disheartened, there are simpler forms of the game. Golf croquet, one-ball and short croquet are versions which have their own particular requirements of skill and tactics. See the Golf Croquet leaflet.
The Lawn: a full-size lawn is 35 by 28 yards. Size can vary, especially for garden croquet, but it is a good idea to keep the 5:4 ratios.
Source...