Croquet 101: FAQ, Learn How to Play and More

Many players and coaches have written good articles about learning, techniques, tactics., and interpreting the rules of croquet.

If you want to read articles about a specific type of croquet, use the libraries for American Croquet, Association Croquet, Nine-Wicket Croquet, or Golf Croquet.

Authors

Short biographies of some of these authors appear here (in alphabetical order). A list of the articles they have written also appears on their biography page.

Bill Arliss of England, UK
Carl Mabee of Sanford, Maine, USA
Cheryl Bromley of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA
Eric Sawyer of Pasadena, California, USA
Gordon Matthews
Jeff Soo of Durham, North Carolina, USA
John Riches of Salisbury, South Australia, AU
Len Canavan of Lake Wales, Florida, USA
Owen Edwards of Melbourne, Victoria, AU

Titles

Here is a list of the titles (in alphabetical order) of all the croquet articles. You may need to get the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

 A Common Dilemma For Golf Croquet Referees by Gordon Matthews
 Bombards by Eric Sawyer
 Decision Tree On Wicket Approaches by Eric Sawyer
 Does Court Speed Matter by Carl Mabee
 Double Banking by Jeff Soo
 Double Taps And Pushes Close Balls by Owen Edwards
 Error Correction by John Riches
 Finer Points by John Riches
 Golden Triangle by Eric Sawyer
 Golf Croquet Fault And Wrong Ball Chart by Owen Edwards
 Golf Croquet Fundamentals – The DT’s by Owen Edwards
 Golf Croquet Fundamentals – The DT’s Continued by Owen Edwards
 Golf Croquet Glossary by Owen Edwards
 How Golf Balls Can Help Your Croquet Game by Cheryl Bromley
 Learning The Three Approach Shots by Eric Sawyer
 Mental Approach by John Riches
 Next Ball Matrix by Eric Sawyer
 Official Rulings On The 2007 Edition Of The WCF Golf Croquet Rules by Owen Edwards
 Offside: An Attempt To De-Confuse by Owen Edwards
 One Ball Blocks Another From The Hoop by Eric Sawyer
 Playing The Middle Hoops by Cheryl Bromley
 Stun Stop Shot by Eric Sawyer
 Technique by John Riches
 The First Ball To Approach A Wicket by Eric Sawyer
 The Idiot’s Guide To The Wrong Ball Law by Bill Arliss
 The Importance Of Developing A Pre-Shot Routine by Cheryl Bromley
 The Many Layers Of Golf Croquet by Cheryl Bromley
 Three Ways To Jaws by Eric Sawyer
 Use Sequence To Your Advantage by Jeff Soo
 Using The Accelerator And The Steering Wheel by Eric Sawyer
 WCF Golf Croquet Rules Index by Owen Edwards
 When Not To Try Jawsing by Eric Sawyer

The easiest way to learn how to play croquet is to play Nine-Wicket Croquet with your friends or neighbors. Then, if you want more of a challenge, learn Six-Wicket Croquet.

The best way to learn Six-Wicket Croquet is to play Golf Croquet with someone. This will teach you how to swing a mallet, hit a ball, run a hoop, and the order in which the hoops must be run in Six-Wicket Croquet. Then, if you want even more challenge, have someone teach you how to play Association Croquet or American Croquet.

If you want to learn a specific type of croquet, use the library for American Croquet, Association Croquet, Nine-Wicket Croquet, or Golf Croquet.

The USCA also offers classes that will teach you how to play croquet.

But if you want to do some learning on your own, here is what to do.

1. Read Association Croquet — The Game and How it is Played by Dr. Ian Plummer.
2. Watch Introducing the Game of Croquet by Chris van der Craats (get Adobe Shockwave).
3. Watch Introduction To Croquet by John Bevington (get Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer).
4. Read A Synopsis of the Game by Dr. Ian Plummer.
5. Read Beginners’ Coaching Notes 1 by Dr. Ian Plummer.
6. Read Beginners’ Coaching Notes 2 by Dr. Ian Plummer.
7. Read Beginners’ Coaching Notes 3 by Dr. Ian Plummer.
8. Read Beginners’ Coaching Notes 4 by Dr. Ian Plummer.

Improve your techniques of standing, gripping, aiming, swinging, hitting, and hoop running.

If you want help with techniques for a specific type of croquet, use the libraries for American Croquet, Association Croquet, Nine-Wicket Croquet, or Golf Croquet.

Here are all the articles (in alphabetic order) about croquet techniques. You may need to get the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

 Bombards by Eric Sawyer
 Error Correction by John Riches (read The Roquet, and Hoop Running)
 Finer Points by John Riches (read after reading the other articles)
 How Golf Balls Can Help Your Croquet Game by Cheryl Bromley
 Jump Shots by Eric Sawyer
 Learning The Three Approach Shots by Eric Sawyer
 Mental Approach by John Riches
 Pass-Roll by Eric Sawyer
 Stun Stop Shot by Eric Sawyer
 Technique by John Riches
 The First Ball To Approach A Wicket by Eric Sawyer
 The Idiot’s Guide To The Wrong Ball Law by Bill Arliss
 The Importance Of Developing A Pre-Shot Routine by Cheryl Bromley
 The Many Layers Of Golf Croquet by Cheryl Bromley
 Three Ways To Jaws by Eric Sawyer
 Using The Accelerator And The Steering Wheel by Eric Sawyer

In playing croquet, strategy and tactics are as important, if not more important, than techniques. A smarter player can usually beat a stronger player.

To read articles about the tactics and strategy for specific types of croquet, use the libraries for American Croquet, Association Croquet, Nine-Wicket Croquet, or Golf Croquet.

Here are some articles (in alphabetic order) about tactics and strategy for you to read. You may need to get the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

 Croquet Checklist by Cheryl Bromley

Improve your understanding of croquet rules to avoid faults and errors, and to play with the proper etiquette.

If you want interpretrations about the rules of a specific type of croquet, use the library for American Croquet, Nine-Wicket Croquet, Golf Croquet, or Association Croquet.

Here are all the articles (in alphabetic order) interpreting the rules of croquet. You may need to get the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

 A Common Dilemma For Golf Croquet Referees by Gordon Matthews
 Double Banking by Jeff Soo
 Double Taps And Pushes Close Balls by Owen Edwards
 Golf Croquet Fault And Wrong Ball Chart by Owen Edwards
 Golf Croquet Fundamentals – The DT’s by Owen Edwards
 Golf Croquet Fundamentals – The DT’s Continued by Owen Edwards
 Golf Croquet Glossary by Owen Edwards
 Official Rulings On The 2007 Edition Of The WCF Golf Croquet Rules by Owen Edwards
 Offside: An Attempt To De-Confuse by Owen Edwards
 The Idiot’s Guide To The Wrong Ball Law by Bill Arliss
 WCF Golf Croquet Rules Index by Owen Edwards

Here are some web pages (in alphabetic order) interpreting the rules of croquet.

1. Backyard Croquet: Rules FAQs
2. Backyard Croquet: Challenging Options
3. What if a ball runs a wicket and hits another ball lying just beyond?
4. What if a ball runs a wicket but hits a ball lying in the wicket?
5. When does a ball score a wicket?