Croquet Rules: How to Play - The Complete Beginner's Guide

Croquet has a reputation for complexity that it does not quite deserve. The full competition game, played to Association Croquet rules with breaks and bisques, is genuinely complex, a tactical game whose strategic depth rewards years of competitive play. But the garden game, played on a domestic lawn with a standard Jaques set, is learnable in twenty minutes and playable to a competitive standard within a session. The rules that matter for a family afternoon are a small subset of the full game, and this guide covers exactly those rules, clearly, completely, and in the order you need them to get a game going.

The Basic Aim

The aim of croquet is to be the first player (or team) to run all six hoops in the correct sequence and then hit the central peg with your ball. Each player has a coloured ball. On your turn, you hit your ball with your mallet. If you run a hoop (pass your ball through the correct hoop in the correct direction), you earn an extra stroke. If you hit another player's ball (a roquet), you earn two extra strokes and the right to move both balls. The player who completes the course first wins.

That is the complete framework. Everything else, the tactics, the decisions about which hoop to play for, when to roquet another player and when to ignore them, follows from understanding this structure and applying it on the lawn.

Setting Up the Court

For a garden croquet game, you need a roughly flat lawn of at least 15 metres by 10 metres. Set the peg in the centre of the lawn. Place the six hoops in the standard garden layout: two hoops at each end of the lawn (one directly in front of the peg at each end, one to the side), and one hoop on each side of the centre. The hoops should be pushed firmly into the ground so they stand vertically, and should be tight enough that the ball only just passes through, roughly 3mm clearance on each side is correct for a properly manufactured Jaques set.

Mark a starting line approximately 90cm from the first hoop. This is where balls enter the court at the start of the game.

The Hoop Sequence

Hoops are numbered and must be run in sequence. In standard garden croquet, the sequence runs through the hoops in a specific pattern that takes the player around the court and back again before finishing at the peg. The full sequence is described in the instructions that come with every Jaques croquet set. The key rule is simple: you can only score a hoop when you run the correct next hoop for your ball. Running a hoop you have already scored, or a hoop that is not next in sequence, scores nothing.

Taking Your Turn

On your turn, you have one stroke (unless you earn extra strokes as described below). Use your mallet to hit your ball. The standard grip is hands together, mallet swung between the legs (centre stance) or to the side (side stance), both are valid, and players should use whichever feels more natural and produces a more consistent strike.

Earning Extra Strokes: The Roquet

If your ball hits another player's ball, this is called a roquet. A roquet earns you two extra strokes, with specific rights. On your first extra stroke (the croquet stroke), you place your ball in contact with the roqueted ball and strike your ball. Both balls move. You can use this to move an opponent's ball to a disadvantageous position, or to advance your own ball towards the next hoop. On your second extra stroke, you play your ball normally from where it lies.

You can roquet each other ball once per turn. After roqueting a ball, you cannot roquet that same ball again until you have run your next hoop, at which point all balls become available to roquet again.

Earning Extra Strokes: Running a Hoop

If you run your correct next hoop in a single stroke (the ball passes completely through in the correct direction), you score that hoop and earn one extra stroke. This continuation stroke allows you to set up for the next hoop, play a roquet, or advance your ball as needed.

Two-Ball (Doubles) Croquet

For four players, the standard game is doubles, with partners sharing a pair of balls. Colours are traditionally blue and black (one pair) against red and yellow (the other). Partners take alternate turns using their respective balls. Each player manages their own ball, but partners work together strategically, one partner's ball can roquet and advance the other's, set up a hoop position, or defend against the opponents' balls.

Doubles croquet is the format most families play on a garden afternoon, and it is the format for which croquet's social qualities, the conversation between shots, the collective satisfaction when a partner runs a difficult hoop, the shared frustration when an opponent sends your ball to the boundary, are most fully expressed.

Simplified Garden Rules for Beginners

If the roquet rules feel complex for a first game, the simplified version removes them entirely. Each player simply takes one stroke per turn, runs hoops in sequence, and the first to complete the course wins. This version lacks the tactical depth of full croquet but is immediately playable for any age and is often how families are introduced to the game. Most players who start with the simplified version want to learn the roquet rules within a session or two, the additional tactical layer makes the game significantly more interesting.

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  Equipment neededMallets (one per player), balls (one per player, colour-coded), hoops (six for a standard garden course), peg (one central), and a flat lawn. All provided in a standard Jaques of London croquet set.
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  PlayersTwo to six players. Best with four (two pairs of doubles). Works as singles with two or four players and as doubles with four or six. More than six players requires a rotation system or a second game.
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  DurationA doubles garden game typically takes one to two hours at a relaxed pace. Singles games are shorter. Time limits (one or two hours) with the player ahead at time winning are a practical option for afternoon games with a fixed schedule.
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  SurfaceCroquet is designed for grass. A flat, close-mown lawn produces the best play. Long or uneven grass is playable but introduces elements of luck into the game that reduce the tactical quality. Most domestic gardens with a maintained lawn are adequate for enjoyable garden croquet.

Frequently Asked Questions About Croquet Rules

How do you play croquet for beginners?

Each player takes turns hitting their ball with a mallet, trying to run six hoops in sequence and then hit the central peg. Running your next hoop earns an extra stroke. Hitting another player's ball (a roquet) earns two extra strokes. The first player to run all six hoops and hit the peg wins. Beginners can start with a simplified version, one stroke per turn, no roquet rule, and add the roquet rules once the basic sequence is understood.

How many players can play croquet?

Croquet works for two to six players. The standard game is four players in two doubles pairs. Singles play (two players, one ball each) and six-player games with three doubles pairs are both valid. Four players in doubles is the format that produces the richest tactical play and the best social dynamic for a garden afternoon.

What is a roquet in croquet?

A roquet occurs when your ball hits another player's ball during your turn. A roquet earns two extra strokes: the croquet stroke (where you place your ball against the roqueted ball and strike both) and a continuation stroke (where you play your ball normally from where it lies after the croquet stroke). You can roquet each ball once per turn, with the right to roquet all balls again after running your next hoop.

Who invented the rules of croquet?

The first standardised rules for croquet were published by John Jaques II of Jaques of London in 1857, in a publication titled Croquet: The Laws and Regulations of the Game. Jaques of London had begun manufacturing commercial croquet sets in 1851. The rules Jaques established, developed further in collaboration with the All England Croquet Club after its founding in 1868, are the direct ancestors of the rules played today.