How To Play Croquet

How To Play Croquet: Basic Rules And Set Up Guides

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Croquet is a popular backyard game that involves at least two players. It can also be played professionally outside your yard as they are championships held in the United States and New Zealand.

Playing croquet may seem easy, but it is quite complex if you consider the rules of the game and the required setup of the game.

This guide has explained how to play croquet, the basic rules, set up this game in your yard, some basic techniques, and the different types of croquet fields. Knowing this information makes the game more competitive and fun.

How to Play Croquet 

Croquet can be played by two, four, or six players, four players can be a team of two, and six players can be a team of three. The aim of croquet is to pass the balls through the hoops in the right order.

The balls in croquet are painted in various colors for an organized game, and the hoops and pegs cannot be moved to help a player. There are several rules and setup guides associated with croquet.

There are various strokes a player can use to score points in croquet. A very popular stroke is called roquet; this involves hitting your opponent’s ball with your ball; this stroke earns a player 2 points. Making a roquet within a short distance is called rush-roquet.

You can hit your ball at an upward angle to move your opponent’s ball just a little; this stroke is called a stop shot. To make your ball move a longer distance, you can make a roll shot that involves striking the ball at a downward angle, and lastly, you can use your mallet to hit the ball at an angle parallel to the ground.

Rules of croquet

  1. Croquet is played orderly with four blue, red, black, and yellow balls.
  2. The pegs, hoops, and other balls cannot be moved to aid any player during the game.
  3. A player who is to play first is called the striker. In a game involving a single player, one player uses the blue and black balls while the other player uses the red and yellow. But in a game of teams, each player strikes their ball.
  4. A coin toss should decide which player or team gets to strike first.
  5. Each player strikes from one yard of a corner closest to the fourth hoop; after the first strike, the ball will be hit from where it lies.
  6. Once a player runs the first hoop, the other players then proceed to run the second hoop, and so on
  7. A hope is run when no part of the ball goes beyond the side of the hoop from which it started. It usually takes some trials to run a hoop.
  8. If a ball other than the striker’s ball hits the hoop, it is counted as a peeled ball.
  9. A player should not touch any ball or let any ball touch them when it’s not their turn.

Croquet Set-Up Guide

We will explain how to set up both a 6 wicket croquet court and a 9 wicket croquet court. They both have different requirements and measurements.

Here is a general step to set up a croquet field in your backyard. This is a double diamond setup.

  1. Walk 3 feet away from the center of the shorter side and place a stake
  2. Walk another 3 feet away from your stake and place your first wicket; another 3 feet away from your first wicket should be the location of your second wicket.
  3. Walk 16 feet away from your second wicket and place your third wicket
  4. Walk halfway between your second and third wicket and walk 9 feet toward both sides of your court; then, you place a wicket on both sides
  5. Walk 16 feet away from your first set up (first diamond) and place the 6th wicket
  6. Walk 8 feet away from the end of the first set up, and then walk 9 feet on either side and place wickets on both sides.
  7. Walk 3 feet away from your 6th wicket, place your final wicket, and then walk 3 feet away from your final wicket and place your other stake.

Watch the Video Below to Learn How to Play Croquet

Types of Croquet Field

There are two types of croquet field, the 9 wicket field and the 6 wicket field. Understanding these two fields can give you an idea of which one of them is suitable to be used in your yard.

A 9 wicket court layout is best for backyards. So if you want to set up a croquet court in your backyard, you should probably consider the 9 wicket croquet court.

The dimension of a 9 wicket croquet court should be 100 feet long by 50 feet wide. A 9 wicket court is also known as a double diamond court. A game can be played in the 9 wicket court by 2 to 6 players using 4 to 6 balls.

However, a 6 wicket croquet court layout is best for professional croquet players and is often used in championships and tournaments.

The dimension of a 6 wicket croquet court should be 105 feet long by 84 feet wide. A 6 wicket croquet can be played with 4 to six players and 4 to 6 balls.

Conclusion: How To Play Croquet

The croquet rules make the game more challenging, and it can be exciting to play in your backyard. Croquet is played with a mallet, and various colored balls are used in order. We have described some basic skills like roquet, roll-shot, and stop shot involved in playing croquet.

We also listed out the croquet rules and how to set up a croquet field. But before setting up a game of croquet, you should understand the two basic types of croquet field.

9 wicket croquet is suitable for a game in your yard, while professional players in tournaments mostly use a 6 wicket croquet.

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We trust this article helped you learn How To Play Croquet. You may also want to check out the Best Croquet Set To Bring Fun To Your Backyard.

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