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Croquet Rules Card

A one-page croquet rules card: how to play, how to score, and how to set it up. Hit print, fold it, and keep it with your set. Want the full walkthrough? See the Croquet rules.

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Croquet

rules card
Players2 to 6 (singles or teams)
Ages6+
Setup5 to 10 min
SpaceFlexible; roughly 50 x 100 ft for a full course, less for backyard

What you need

  • A standard croquet set: 6 mallets and 6 matching balls
  • 9 wickets (the metal hoops the balls pass through)
  • 2 stakes (one at each end of the course)
  • A reasonably flat patch of grass; perfectly manicured is nice but not required
  • Optional: a measuring tape or string to lay out the wicket pattern evenly

Scoring

  • 9-wicket croquet: score 1 point each time your ball clears a wicket in the correct sequence, plus 1 point for each stake hit at the right time. A full course is worth 14 points per ball. First to complete the course wins.
  • Bonus strokes are not points, but they are how you rack up wickets fast: clear a wicket for 1 extra stroke; roquet another ball for 2 extra strokes.
  • Golf croquet: every ball plays for the same wicket at the same time. Whoever runs that wicket first scores 1 point, then all balls move to the next wicket. First to 7 points (in a 13-point game) typically wins.
  • Poison variation: once a ball has cleared all wickets and stakes, it becomes 'poison' and can knock any other ball out of the game, but is itself eliminated if hit or sent through a wicket. Last ball standing wins.

How to play

  1. Set up the course. For 9-wicket croquet, set the two stakes at opposite ends and arrange the 9 wickets in the standard double-diamond pattern between them. Backyard space is flexible. Each player picks a ball and matching mallet, and play follows the color order printed on the stake.
  2. Start each ball into play. Players take turns striking their ball from a starting spot beside the first stake. The goal is to send your ball through the wickets in the correct sequence, around the course and back, hitting the turning stake and finishing by hitting the home stake.
  3. Take your stroke. On your turn you get one stroke. Strike your own ball with the face of the mallet. If you run your ball through the next wicket in sequence, you earn one bonus stroke and keep going.
  4. Roquet another ball for bonus strokes. If your ball hits another player's ball, that is a roquet and it earns you two bonus strokes. The common backyard reward is to place your ball against the one you hit and 'send' it away, then take a free second stroke.
  5. Finish at the home stake. After a ball has cleared all 9 wickets in sequence and tagged the turning stake, it works its way back and finishes by hitting the home stake. That ball is now 'staked out' and removed from play.
  6. Win the game. In 9-wicket play, the first player or team to run the full course and stake out wins. In golf croquet, you win by being first to the target score.

Set it up

There is no fixed throwing or pitching distance in croquet. The course size is flexible for backyards. A full 9-wicket layout traditionally fits in an area around 50 by 100 feet, but you can shrink the whole pattern to fit a small lawn, then spread it out for a longer game.