Croquet was first played in Britain in the mid-19th century and has been played as a backyard game in America for the last century. Players use wooden or plastic mallets to propel balls along the ground through wickets, or small arches that are stuck into the ground. The object of the game is to get your ball through all of the wickets--usually six or nine--before any of the other players.
Setting Up
Step 1
Measure an area of your lawn that is twice as long as it is wide. The normal size of a croquet playing field is 50 feet wide by 100 feet long, but you can adjust your field to fit your available space.
Step 2
Mark off the boundaries of the field with chalk or string around the perimeter or by placing stakes or flags at each corner.
Step 3
Place two stakes in the center of either end of the field. These are your starting and ending stakes.
Step 4
Push a wicket in the ground 6 inches from each starting gate. Place another wicket in the ground in the same line 6 inches from the first two wickets you placed.
Step 5
Put a wicket in the center of the playing field. Measure a line through the center of the court and mark each side of the court.
Step 6
Place one wicket 16 inches above the center line on the left side of the playing field, 6 inches in from the field's edge, and one wicket 16 inches below the center line on the left side of the field, 6 inches in from the playing field's edge. Do the same thing on the right side of the field. If you are making a smaller field, you will have to adjust the proportions according to the size of your field. View a diagram of what the field should look like on the United States Croquet Association's website (see Resources).
Playing the Game
Step 1
Determine which mallet and ball each player will play with. Mallets and balls are color coded, and players should choose a mallet and ball of the same color. Croquet sets usually come with six mallets and six balls. The order of play according to the United States Croquet Association is always blue, red, black, yellow, green, orange. Backyard croquet tends to be less formal, so you may choose to follow this or not. If you are playing with two teams of three players, toss a coin to see which team will go first. The side that wins the coin toss will play first, third and fifth and should take the corresponding colors. If you are playing with three teams of two, choose a stake and have one player from each team hit a ball with any color mallet towards the stake. The one who comes closest to the stake gets to choose his team's colors; the one who gets second closest gets to choose second; and the farthest gets to choose last.
Step 2
Start at a point halfway between the end stake and the first wicket. At this point, each player plays into the game by striking her ball with her mallet, attempting to get the ball through the first two wickets. If a player is successful, she gets to take another shot; if not, the next player in order takes her turn.
Step 3
Play through each wicket in order as shown on the United States Croquet Association's diagram. If you hit another player's ball during the game, you have two choices: You can either take another turn, or you can hit your opponent's ball out of the court by placing your ball next to his and forcefully hitting it against his ball to send his ball flying out of the court. People often do this by placing a foot on top of their own ball and vigorously striking the ball.
Step 4
Continue to play in order until the first player hits her ball through the last wicket. Then, continue to play in order, skipping the player or players that have finished, until everyone has hit their balls through the last wicket. A team finishes first when all its players have hit their balls through the last stake.
Tips and Warnings
- Croquet is best played on a well-manicured lawn with short-grass and a level surface.
Things You'll Need
- Mallet for each player
- Wickets
- Ball for each player
- Stakes
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