The history of croquet dates back to 16th century England and was one of the first games to be played by both sexes. Croquet became an Olympic sport in 1904. The rules of the game found below were established by the United States Croquet Association; rules may differ in other countries.
Object of the Game:
A player or team attempts to hit balls through a layout of wickets until the center stake is reached. A winner is determined by being the first side to finish the course or by scoring the most points.
Playing Field:
The court is a grass rectangle 105 feet long on its east and west sides and 84 feet on the north and south sides. Smaller courts may be used, but must adhere to a 5:4 ratio.
The course is comprised of white metal hoops called wickets, each wicket is 12 inches high. The top of the first wicket is blue, the last wicket is red.
The stake in the center of the course is wood, 18 inches in height. The stake is white with bands of blue, red, black, and yellow. These colors denote the order of play.
There are flags at each corner, the SW corner is blue, the SE corner is yellow, the NW corner is red, and the NE corner is black.
Equipment:
Mallet- made of wood, approximately 30 inches long.
Balls- usually made of wood, they are blue, red, black, and yellow with a diameter of 3 5/8 inches
Clips- same color as balls, placed on wickets to indicate direction of play
Deadness Board- displays which balls cannot be hit
Rules:
The game can be played as singles or doubles. Each side plays two colors. One side plays the blue and black balls, the other side plays the red and yellow balls.
The order of play is always blue, red, black, yellow.
The player whose turn it is is known as the striker. A striker gets one shot, unless he can hit another ball that player is alive on, or score a wicket by hitting a ball completely through a wicket in the correct order and direction. The striker then becomes alive. If the striker is alive on a ball and hits it, the striker earns two free shots.
A croquet is the first of two extra shots. Players may set their own ball against the other and hit it so that both balls move. After the croquet shot, the player takes a free shot, called a continuation.
The striker that scores a wicket earns a continuation shot. This free shot can be used to go to another hoop or to hit another ball.
After a ball has hit another ball it is dead on that particular ball. The ball is not alive again until the striker's ball has cleared the next wicket. If two balls are hit at the same time, the first ball hit is known as the roqueted ball.
When a ball goes out of bounds, it is placed in-bounds the length of a mallet head (9 inches) from whichever point it went out of bounds.
A player picks up a clip after scoring a wicket and puts it on the next wicket after the turn ends.
A player may elect to pass a turn.
Procedure:
Play begins with a single shot from 3 feet behind the first wicket.
Players who have not gone through the first wicket cannot hit balls that have also not gone through the wicket. Balls that have gone through the wicket cannot hit balls not yet through it.
Players attempt to score the first 6 wickets in a clockwise direction. At the 7th wicket (known as the 1-back) the same six wickets are played in a counter-clockwise direction for a maximum total of 12 points. Hitting the stake is the 13th point.
As each ball scores number 7, the opposing side gets to free one ball of deadness.
After a ball has scored number 12 it becomes a rover and can clear its deadness on all balls by going through any wicket in any direction. Once cleared, a rover cannot hit the last ball on which it was dead until it hits a different ball. A rover ball may not hit a ball twice in the same direction.
The winner is the first side to reach 26 points. In order to win, both balls have to go through the 12 wickets (6 clockwise, 6 counter-clockwise), and hit the stake.
Although croquet is most often played recreationally, a referee is used in tournament play.
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