Croquet comes in several varieties. This article will provide a brief review of where croquet came from and a look at the different forms of croquet played today. Some links to further information about these different varieties of croquet are also provided. A Bit of Background No one has determined where croquet actually came from. Some argue that it came from France, others that it developed in Ireland, and there are proponents for other theories as well. The important thing is that croquet really took hold in the United Kingdom and in North America in the later 1800s, and became a very popular social pastime. In its earliest flowering, croquet was played on the best lawn one could find, but lawns were not specifically built for the game. When the game reached the peak of its popularity, however, clubs came into existence so eager players could ensure themselves of competitive opportunities and pleasant society. These clubs often took pains to develop their facilities to the point that very high quality lawns were designed and built. The lawns were so good, in fact, that new games appeared to take advantage of them. One such game was lawn tennis, which grew in popularity and began to rival croquet’s dominance. The All-England Croquet Club was one club that let tennis players in only to find that they soon infested the grounds. They took over the club, to all intents and purposes, and eventually changed its name to the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. This club now hosts the most prestigious of all tennis tournaments on its home courts at Wimbledon. You can still find croquet courts there if you look carefully. The major advantage that croquet had over most other sports in the 1800s (and a major advantage still today) was that men and women could compete equally. As a result, they could play together. As a further result, it provided rare opportunities for flirting. As an even further result, croquet earned such a scandalous reputation for tempting its players into immorality that the game was eventually denounced from pulpits on both sides of the Atlantic. Organizations and individuals wishing to maintain decorous Victorian reputations fled from this hotbed of potential depravity in droves. The game as played in the 1800s was similar in many ways to the game now played on the back lawns of family homes across North America, except that the equipment used in the 1800s was of a far more satisfactory size and weight than that which can be purchased now in North American retail outlets. The toy sets readily available now are just that — toys — and don’t have the weight to allow the precision play that’s necessary for a sport to reward skill or practice and become more than a mere pastime. Good equipment can be found today, but from very few manufacturers and only through specialized retailers. It’s difficult to find a serious player who has not had his mallet hand-made to his own specifications. The layout of the courts in the 1800s usually involved a stake at each end of the court and nine or ten hoops set out symmetrically. The game was played by anywhere from two to eight players, playing from four to eight balls, but usually as two competing teams. Each ball had its own color, and turns were taken by the players in a specified color sequence, so that all balls had one turn before the first ball had its second turn. After the game declined in popularity in the late 1800s, the dedicated faithful few who remained sought improvements that might lead to the sport’s resurgence. The changes have been significant, but the resurgence has been slow. One of the major developments was the founding of the Croquet Association in the British Isles, which has unified and codified the international laws. The national bodies of other croquet-playing countries have worked with the CA to continue the process of refining the laws and establishing the guidelines by which international competition can take place. The Laws of Association Croquet The Laws developed under the Croquet Association had several major differences from the earlier rules: the number of stakes was reduced from two to one, and that stake was placed in the center of the court; the number of hoops was reduced to six, and each hoop was run twice in the game by each ball, once in each direction; the number of balls was set at four, and the game could be played either as singles or doubles; and while the two competing sides had to take turns, the strict color sequence of play was abandoned. A click on the link above leads you to a brief review of the primary concepts of Association Croquet, as well as to links to sources of the full Laws. (link to come) The Rules of USCA Croquet Croquet in North America has taken a different course than in the rest of the Croquet world. Perhaps American puritanism drove croquet, once its reputation was placed in question, farther out of mainstream acceptability than was the case in the United Kingdom. In any case, to the extent that croquet fluorished, it was only as a family or neighborhood social activity. The most dedicated players simply played a more intense version of the game that prevailed around the world in the 1800s. Not until well into the 1960s did the US Croquet Association form and establish its own set of rules. These rules took elements from both the older version of croquet and the new Croquet Association version. The USCA court is laid out with the same equipment and measurements as the Association court, and the game is played with four balls competing as two sides, but turns are taken in strict color sequence. Another critical difference is that while in the US game a ball cannot play off an opponent ball more than once before scoring its next hoop, in the Association game any ball that has played off an opponent but has not scored its hoop before the turn ends can use that opponent ball again on its next turn. A click on the link above leads you to a brief review of the primary concepts of USCA Croquet, as well as to links to sources of the full Rules. (link to come) The Rules of 9-Wicket Croquet For several decades before the establishment of the USCA there was no national authority regulating croquet in North America, and the manufacturers of the toy equipment available tended to put out the smallest possible rule books they could get away with, saving money on paper and ink. As a result, most groups playing croquet had to invent new rules or adapt them from rules created by others. Several different approaches to the “backyard” game developed as a result. In one of these, which has since been codified by the USCA as the “official” 9-wicket game, 6 players play against each other in strict color sequence. In other variations, two three-man teams compete. There are several variations of these games that differ in how boundaries are observed, what happens after a ball hits another ball, whether extra shots earned by hitting balls or going through hoops are cumulative, and so on. Different organizations have formed to coordinate tournaments in these different variations. Clicking on the link above leads you to a fuller discussion of 9-wicket games and a list of sources for different versions of the rules. (link to come) Golf Croquet Perhaps the most rapidly growing version of croquet is decidedly different in its rules than the other mallet/ball/hoop games. The court used is the same as that used in the 6-wicket versions, but where players in the true croquet games earn extra strokes by hitting other balls or going through hoops, in Golf croquet each player is limited to one stroke per turn. Players begin the game by taking turns trying to get through the first hoop. After all players have played, the first tries again, from wherever the ball is at the beginning of his/her turn (balls that go out of bounds are brought to the boundary line first). Once one player has gotten a ball through the first hoop, all play is targeted at the second hoop. The first player to have run a given number of hoops — usually seven — is the winner. Another difference between Golf and other forms of croquet is that the generally accepted Laws for Golf croquet were formulated by the World Croquet Federation, an organization of the national croquet organizations around the world, whereas other games laws and rules are essentially the province of the national organizations that established them, subject to change only with those bodies’ approval. A click on the link above leads you to a brief review of the primary concepts of Golf Croquet, as well as to links to sources of the full Laws. Roque Roque is a variation of croquet played with short mallets on a dirt surface that has a wall around it rather than a boundary line. Balls may be banked off this wall en route to their eventual destination. Roque is played primarily in the southern US. Extreme Croquet Sometimes called “Cross-Country” Croquet, this version of the sport features highly challenging courses that are often as far from the Association rectangle of perfectly smooth lawn as one can imagine. Again, organizations have sprung up around North America to coordinate the exuberant contests that players of Extreme Croquet enjoy. Other Variations Other variations of croquet tend to be based on these basic games, but with minor or major alterations to make the games quicker, simpler, or more challenging in one way or another. Some variations were designed specifically to discourage long break play that can leave opponents sitting on the sidelines for most of a game, others were designed to be more spectator-friendly, and still others were developed specifically to provide more intensive practice of the skills and thinking that are required of top competitors. A click on the link above takes you to a descriptive list of variations, and links to greater detail about each. (link to come) Your Comments, Please! If you find this information sadly incomplete or factually questionable, send us a note with some authoritative information about what we should add or why we should change what’s here. We’ll keep adding to and adjusting this information to make it as useful and accurate as we can. |
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Croquet and its Varieties |