Croquet is a lawn game in which players use mallets to strike balls through a sequence of hoops set out on grass. It is played in two main forms, Association Croquet and Golf Croquet, which share equipment but differ quite a bit in how a game is won.
Objective
In Association Croquet, each side tries to send its balls through all the hoops in the correct order and direction, then hit the central peg, before the opposing side does. In Golf Croquet, players compete hoop by hoop, and the side that wins the most individual hoops over the course of the game takes the win.
Rules and regulations
- The World Croquet Federation is the sport’s international governing body and publishes the laws for both codes, updating them from time to time; the latest edition of the Association Croquet rules came into force in late 2025.
- In Association Croquet, striking your ball against another ball on the lawn earns a croquet stroke, giving extra shots and a chance to send opponents’ balls out of position, which makes tactics as important as accuracy.
- Golf Croquet is more straightforward: all players aim for the same hoop in turn, and whoever’s ball goes through first scores that hoop, with no croquet strokes involved.
Equipment and playing area
- A full-size croquet lawn is rectangular, commonly around 35 metres by 28 metres, with six hoops arranged in a double-diamond pattern and a peg at the centre.
- Balls are made from hard plastic or composite material, roughly 92 millimetres across, and players use mallets with a solid head, choosing a weight and grip that suits their swing.
Scoring
- An Association Croquet game is won by the side that completes the course through every hoop with both balls and strikes the peg first, or by whoever is ahead on hoops if the game reaches a time limit.
- Golf Croquet is decided purely on hoops won, with a set target, often a majority of the thirteen hoops on the lawn, needed to secure victory.
