Croquet Set

This item is not available for hire without inflatable or minimum spend of £50

How to Play Croquet: Game Rules for Beginners

Croquet is an outdoor game of accuracy and strategy, played by hitting balls through hoops with a mallet. Perfect for garden gatherings, it challenges players to plan their shots, navigate the course and outplay their opponents.

How to Play Croquet

For a beginner-friendly game, try six-hoop garden croquet. You’ll need mallets, coloured balls, six hoops and a finishing peg. Arrange the course on a reasonably flat lawn and agree on the order and direction of the hoops before starting.

Play individually or in two teams, with each side controlling its assigned balls. The aim is to guide your balls through the full course, then hit the finishing peg.

Basic Garden Croquet Rules

1. Take turns: Follow an agreed ball order. A turn normally begins with one stroke.

2. Strike with the mallet: Hit your ball with the mallet’s striking face. Do not push or scoop it.

3. Follow the course: A ball scores a hoop only when it passes completely through the correct hoop in the correct direction.

4. Earn extra strokes: Running a hoop earns another stroke. Hitting another ball can earn two extra strokes: a croquet stroke, taken with your ball touching the ball it hit, followed by a continuation stroke.

5. Limit repeat hits: You cannot earn extra strokes from the same ball again until your ball scores its next hoop or begins a new turn.

6. Handle boundary shots: If a ball leaves the lawn, return it to the agreed boundary line before continuing.

7. Finish to win: After completing the agreed hoop sequence, hit the finishing peg. The first side to finish with all its balls wins.

Croquet has several variations, including golf croquet, association croquet and nine-wicket croquet, each with different rules. Agree on your version before play begins.

Beginner tip: Use controlled strokes and aim to leave your ball in a good position for its next hoop.