A simple introduction

Association Croquet is an intriguing game. It is played as singles or doubles with four balls in play: Blue and Black which are always play against Red and Yellow. In singles, each player uses both balls, in doubles each player has one ball each.

The object of the game is to make both balls of your side pass through all the hoops in order of sequence and peg-out (hit the centre peg) before the opponent(s). The first hoop has a blue top and the last hoop has a red top. A player runs starting at the first hoop and finishing at the red topped hoop and then does the six hoops again in the reverse direction. Hoops that are approached in reverse direction are named 1-back, 2-back and so on.

A coloured clip (the colours of the ball you are using) is placed, by the players, on the hoops as you travel round the lawn to show which hoop you are at. The clips are placed on the top bar of the hoops on the first six hoops and on the side leg of the hoops for the reverse journey.

At the beginning of your turn a player has only one stroke but there are things you can do to gain extra stroke.

Extra Strokes: If a player aims at another ball and hits it, this is called a ‘roquet‘ and is given a second stroke which is called a ‘take-off’ stroke’ because the player is allowed to pick up the ball played and place it so it is touching the roqueted ball and take a second shot in any direction, this is called a ‘ball-in-hand’ and refers to the player’s ball. The roqueted ball and the player’s ball have to be placed so they touch. The next stroke becomes the ‘croquet’ stroke and can be played played in many different ways. From the initial roquet stroke, a player is given a croquet stroke, which leads onto a ‘continuation’ stroke . So, in association croquet a player can gain two extra shots from playing the balls in the sequence outlined. A player also gains an extra stroke for successful running a hoop and these extra strokes enable a player to progress further in a single turn..