Garden Croquet

Croquet has become a popular garden game in the UK, where croquet sets are commonplace in most department stores and sports shops. Such sets typically consist of 6 wooden mallets with plastic bumpers on both striking surfaces. The mallet head and handle usually come unassembled and are joined by screwing the handle into the head. The 6 balls are either of wood or, more commonly, plastic. They are coloured blue, red, black, yellow, green and orange. Also included are 9 wire wickets and two wooden stakes. There is often a carrying case or stand with the set.

Setup is just as in standard 9-wicket rules. It is a double-diamond pattern formed by 7 wickets, with the middle wicket serving as a shared point for both diamonds. Beyond the wickets at either end are one additional wicket and one stake. There should be a 6 foot distance separating the wickets at the outer end of each diamond, and 6 more feet between the outermost wickets and the starting and turning stakes. In practice, however, a mere "mallets-head-length" (about 10 inches) separates one wicket from the other, and the outermost wicket from the stake. This allows the ball to more easily be hit through both wickets in one stroke.

The standard game is "cut-throat," with each player trying to beat all the others through the course to the final stake. A player's score is disregarded, and the game is played as a race. The game is sometimes considered to be over as soon as the first player strikes the final stake. Alternatively, players continue playing for second place, third place, and so on, until only one player's ball remains.

Play order is determined by the order of the stripes painted from top to bottom on the stakes. The mallets are sometimes also painted in multicoloured stripes to remind players of the playing order. The usual order is blue, red, black, yellow, green, and finally orange. After orange is done, play continues with blue again. This order sometimes varies, depending on the set being used.

The first player begins by setting their ball beside or in front of the first stake. The player then attempts to strike the ball through the first two wickets. Though disallowed in some gardens, players might sometimes use the technique of striking the ball not with the end of the mallet, but with the side, or even shoving it with the side, rather than striking it. Another technique disallowed in some gardens, but tolerated in others, is to set the ball in direct contact with the stake, and to propel it by striking the stake, rather than the ball itself.

A bonus stroke is granted for each wicket the ball goes through. At the starting and turning stakes, two bonus strokes would be granted for getting the ball through both wickets in one stroke.

Two bonus strokes are also granted for hitting another ball. Hitting a ball cancels out all bonus strokes accumulated from wickets, and going through a wicket cancels all bonus strokes accumulated from hitting a ball. A player can therefore acquire no more than 2 bonus strokes at a time. If a player hits another ball, that player is considered "dead on" that ball, and can acquire no more bonus strokes from hitting that ball until they have gone through the next wicket (or struck the next stake) in the course.

After hitting another ball and gaining bonus strokes from it, a player has three choices as to ball placement. The player may:

• play the ball where it lies
• pick up the ball and place it right next to the struck ball
• pick up the ball and place it one mallets-head-length away from the struck ball

If the ball is placed right next to the struck ball, the player may "send" the other ball by placing a foot on their own ball and then striking it so as to send the other ball away. Care must be taken not to unintentionally send one's own ball during this manoeuvre, and not to injure one's own foot with an overzealous and poorly aimed swing. Holding the ball in place with a hand, rather than a foot, is also acceptable in some yards. A "send" counts as one stroke, and the player has one more stroke after performing it.

Players must play their balls through the wickets in a certain order. From the starting stake and the first two wickets, they proceed forward and right to the third wicket, then forward and left to the fourth, middle wicket, then forward and right to the fifth wicket, then forward and left to the sixth and seventh wickets, and then to the turning stake. After striking the turning stake, the player may pick up the ball and place it again in the same manner as with the starting stake, or else play it where it lies. The player then proceeds back through wickets 7 and 6, in that order, then forward and right to the eighth wicket, then forward and left to the fourth, middle wicket (going through the other direction, this time), then forward and right through the ninth wicket, then forward and left through wickets 2 and 1 in that order, and finally striking the starting stake to win the game. Players do not get bonus strokes for going through a wicket backwards, or out of the proper order.

There are as many variations on these rules as there are gardens in which the game is played, and care must be taken to make the "house rules" clear before the start of the game.

One popular variation is "Poison" or "Snake" rules. In this game, a ball that goes through the final wicket is considered a Snake, or Poison. This ball "kills" or eliminates other non-poisonous balls from play if it strikes them, or is struck by them. If a Snake hits another Snake, the struck Snake is killed. If a Snake hits a stake or goes through a wicket in any direction, it is killed. The last player on the course wins the game. Just as with regular balls, a Snake gains 2 bonus strokes for hitting another ball.

Another variation is team play, where pairs or trios of players compete against other teams to be the first with all members completing the course. Teams are typically blue, black and green versus red, yellow and orange. In couples play, it is blue and black versus red and yellow, or blue and yellow versus red and green versus black and orange.

Yet another variation is "Obstacle" or "Golf" rules, in which players must go through a unique course of wickets that has been designed to be long and difficult. Wickets are often placed in inconvenient spots, such as under bushes or on the sides of hills. The idea here is to maximise originality and absurdity, and there are often numerous additional rules toward this aim, such as the rule that you may not take a stroke without a drink (preferably alcoholic) in your hand.