Rules of Nine-Wicket Croquet

From Basics to Boundaries: How it's Played

The Basics

The nine wickets and two stakes are arranged in a double diamond pattern on a rectangular court (as depicted). The court should be 100 feet long and 50 feet wide. Create clearly marked boundary lines with rope or string, or at the very least, place flags or stakes at the corners (stakes as in pointy sticks; steaks would just make everyone hungry). A game of nine-wicket croquet takes an hour or two to play, though playing with a time limit is also acceptable. Flip a coin to determine who goes first, and bring each ball into play midway between the starting stake and first wicket. The game's over when one player/team has cleared all wickets and struck the final stake with all of his/her/its balls.

Players & Colors

Nine-wicket croquet can be played by anywhere from two to six players (or one if you're practicing or have a dog that likes to watch - or eat steaks). Playing one to a team is known as "cutthroat," but croquet is usually played between two sides using either two or three balls each. Unfortunately, team play doesn't have a pirate-y name.

Croquet balls should be played in a specified order which can be difficult to remember, so we've created this handy acronym: "Blue ran backwards yelling, "Godzilla, oi!'," or Blue Red Black Yellow Green Orange. Blue is apparently Australian, which explains the "oi" part, but feel free to create your own acronym. Or if you like doing things the easy way, you could just look at the color bands on the stakes in your croquet set.

Here's a quick ball color breakdown for games of two to six people:

Singles - Player 1 blue/black, Player 2 red/yellow

Doubles - Same as above, except "Player" is now a team of two

Triples - Team 1 blue/black/green, Team 2 red/yellow/orange

Team play can also be done with three or five players, e.g. Team 1 would have two players playing a total of two balls and Team 2 one player playing a total of two balls.

Points & Bonus Shots

Points are earned by making a ball go through a wicket or hit a stake in the proper order and/or direction. Thus in a nine-wicket game, croquet balls can score 16 points each: one for each stake and 14 for wickets (four of the wickets can only be scored once). The ball must totally clear the wicket and come to a stop on the other side, otherwise it is not considered a point.

Each player/team is allowed one stroke per ball unless bonus shots are earned - and yes, swinging and missing counts as a stroke. A bonus shot(s) can be earned in one of two ways:

• Scoring a point(s), i.e. clearing a wicket and/or hitting the turning stake, which is worth one bonus shot
• Hitting another ball with the striker's ball, which is called a roquet (pronounced like Scooby Doo saying "OK!") and is worth two bonus shots

A player can't earn more than two bonus shots at once, and bonuses aren't cumulative, except when, in the same shot, a player clears two wickets or clears a wicket and hits the turning stake.

After a wicket or stake bonus, the player strikes the ball wherever it lies. But after earning a "R'okay!" bonus there are four possible ways in which one can proceed:

• Play the ball where it stopped
• Place the ball a mallet-head or less away from the hit ball
• Place the ball directly next to the hit ball
• Place the ball directly next to the hit ball and hold the striker ball steady with one's hand or foot; this allows the striker to keep his/her ball immobile while propelling the other ball in any direction (except down, unless you're playing in quicksand)

If a ball clears a wicket and then hits another ball in the same shot, only the wicket bonus is counted. Conversely, if a striker's ball hits another ball and then clears a wicket, two bonus shots are earned, but the wicket does not count and must be cleared again.

The "deadness" option: after a ball has been roquetted, it can't be struck for bonus points again in that turn, unless the striker's ball has earned another point via a wicket or stake.

If your ball is knocked into a stake or through its next wicket by a teammate's or opponent's ball, the point counts, but no bonus is earned.

Additional bonus shots can be earned on the last shot of a previous bonus.

Boundaries & Penalties

Boundary lines should be at least six feet away from the outer wickets (that's what it says in the restraining order). With the exception of a striker's ball that still has a bonus shot remaining, any ball that goes over or comes within one mallet length of the boundary line must be moved in a straight line from its position and placed one mallet length inside the line (perpendicular to the line, not diagonal).

Only the face of the mallet can be used to strike balls, and only the striker's ball can be hit with the mallet - no directly hitting other balls or a wicket/stake. Doing so forfeits the turn, and all affected balls are placed in their previous position.