Croquet Variants

eXtreme Croquet

Taking the princibles of backyard croquet to the next level results in the phenomenon of eXtreme Croquet. This variant shuns the serene settings of traditional croquet for more challenging terrain including those that contain trees, roots, hills, sand, mud, or moving or still water. eXtreme Croquet uses the traditional English figure-eight standard layout, but several additional rules that vary from location to location are also employed.

Bicycle Croquet

Based on the rules of conventional croquet "Bicycle Croquet" probably came about in and around Graz, Austria in the beginning of the 20th century. The modern variation of Bicycle Croquet (from German "Fahrradkrocket") has been played since 1997, when Mike Fugeman (England) and Wolfgang Wendlinger (Austria) reinvented the Sport in Aigen im Ennstal, Austria. The homepage of BCCGraz (Bicycle Croquet Club Graz) gives the following description of the sport:

"In addition to a high level of fairness, BC demands strict control over a player's body and soul. The correct control over ones bicycle is essential for an exciting and stimulating BC-game. The Rund (the ball) is played through the gates by the Holz (mallet). A time limit of 10 seconds has to be met for every individual play. The players alternate strokes and are not allowed to touch the ground with any part of their body. Whoever manages first to hit the peak at the end of the course with their runds wins the game."