The Complete Guide to Croquet: Rules, Setup and Why It's Still the Best Garden Game

There is a moment, usually around the third hoop, when croquet stops being a lawn game and starts being something else entirely. Something that requires concentration, tactical thinking, and barely contained competitiveness that no other garden activity quite manages. It is also the point at which most players realise they have been playing it wrong for thirty years.

Croquet was first sold as a commercial game by Jaques of London in 1851, standardised through John Jaques II's collaboration with the All England Croquet Club at Wimbledon in the 1860s, and has remained fundamentally unchanged since. Not because nobody tried to improve it, because there was very little that needed improving.

What You Need to Play Croquet

The basic equipment for croquet has been the same since the nineteenth century: mallets, balls, hoops, and a central peg. A standard set for four players includes four mallets, four balls (traditionally blue, red, black, and yellow), six hoops, and one centre peg. The lawn needs to be reasonably flat and at least ten metres long, though a full competition court is twenty-eight by thirty-five yards.

For most families, a slightly shorter court works perfectly well. The key is that the grass is cut short enough for balls to roll freely. Long grass is the enemy of croquet. It turns a fast, tactical game into a frustrating slog and ruins the satisfying click of mallet meeting ball.

The Jaques of London croquet sets have been manufactured to competition specification since the Victorian era, used at Hurlingham, at club level, and by families who want something that does not warp in the shed over winter. The mallets are solid hardwood, the hoops are steel with the correct width tolerance for competition balls, and sets are available in full four-player and junior configurations.

How to Set Up a Croquet Court

Setting up correctly makes a significant difference to how the game plays. Place the peg at the centre of the lawn. The six hoops are arranged symmetrically: hoops one and two at the south end, hoops five and six at the north end, hoops three and four on the east and west sides. Each hoop should be pushed firmly into the ground. Wobbly hoops are the most common complaint about budget sets and make the game significantly less satisfying.

The hoop width should allow a ball to pass through with approximately six millimetres of clearance on each side. On a quality set this is already calibrated from manufacture. On a budget set, the tolerance is often much wider, removing most of the skill from approaching hoops at an angle.

The Rules of Croquet: What Most People Get Wrong

Most families who play croquet in the garden are playing a version the game that would be unrecognisable at club level. Not because the spirit is wrong, but because a few key rules have been quietly dropped. These are the rules that actually make croquet interesting.

The fundamental objective is to hit your ball through all six hoops in the correct order and direction, then strike the centre peg, before your opponent does. In a four-player game, partners play together: blue and black versus red and yellow.

The most misunderstood rule is the roquet and continuation shot. When your ball hits another ball, that is called a roquet. After a roquet, you place your ball touching the roqueted ball and take a croquet shot, striking your ball so that both balls move. After the croquet shot, you take a continuation stroke. This sequence is the entire tactical core of croquet. Managing which balls you roquet, in what order, and where you send them is what separates a thoughtful player from someone simply aiming at the next hoop.

The other commonly missed rule is deadness. After you roquet a ball, you are "dead" on that ball for the rest of your turn and cannot roquet it again until you have been through your next hoop. This forces players to sequence their play carefully and prevents the game from collapsing into chaos.

Garden Croquet vs Association Croquet: Which Should You Play?

Association croquet is the full competition form, governed by the Croquet Association and played to the complete ruleset above. Garden croquet uses a simplified version, deadness rules often removed, players take a set number of shots per turn, the game moves faster. The best introduction for families: each player takes one shot per turn, the first to complete all hoops and hit the peg wins, and roquets give one bonus shot. This plays well from age six and keeps the game moving at a pace that holds everyone's attention.

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  Works across all ages at onceA six-year-old and a sixty-year-old can play a genuinely competitive game. Very few garden activities manage this.
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  Rewards getting better at itCroquet is one of very few garden games where skill genuinely improves over years. Children who start at six can play seriously at sixteen.
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  No screens, no batteries, no internetA croquet set fits in the boot of a car, works on any flat grass, and requires nothing electronic. In 2026, these are not small things.
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  NHS recommends 60 minutes of outdoor activity dailyThe Chief Medical Officers' 2023 report specifically cited unstructured outdoor play as declining among UK children. Croquet is a direct answer.

The History of Croquet and Jaques of London

Croquet arrived in England from Ireland in the 1850s. John Jaques II of Jaques of London was the first to manufacture and sell it as a commercial game, publishing the first standardised rules in 1857 in Croquet: The Laws and Regulations of the Game. The game became fashionable with extraordinary speed in Victorian England, partly because it was one of the first outdoor games that men and women could play together in mixed company.

Jaques of London remains the manufacturer of official croquet equipment for the Croquet Association and supplies clubs, championships, and families across the world. Founded in 1795, it is the oldest surviving sports and games manufacturer in the world.

Croquet Tactics: Playing Better From Day One

The most important principle is position: when you go through a hoop, think about where your ball will end up, not just whether it makes it through. Beginners focus on the hoop. Experienced players focus on what comes after it.

The second principle is using roquets strategically. If your opponent's ball sits near your next hoop, roqueting it and using your croquet shot to move yourself into position is almost always better than ignoring it. Learning when to roquet and when to leave other balls is where most of the actual skill lives.

The third principle is that sending your opponent away is as valuable as advancing yourself. A well-played croquet shot that sends the leading ball to the boundary while leaving yours in a good approach position can swing a game significantly. This is what makes croquet feel like chess on grass, an old description that remains accurate.

Frequently Asked Questions About Croquet

How many players can play croquet?

Croquet can be played with two, three, or four players. In a two-player game, each player uses two balls. In a four-player game, players pair up, blue and black versus red and yellow. The game is generally at its best with four players, where the partnership element adds a tactical dimension that solo play cannot replicate.

What age is croquet suitable for?

Garden croquet with simplified rules works well from around age six. The simplified version is accessible from that age and genuinely competitive. Full association rules suit children from around ten or eleven, when tactical complexity becomes engaging rather than overwhelming.

How long does a game of croquet take?

A simplified garden game with four players typically takes thirty to forty-five minutes. A full association game can take two hours or more at competitive level. For family play, the simplified version is almost always the better choice.

Can you play croquet on artificial grass?

Yes, though balls travel faster than on natural lawn due to less resistance. Natural lawn is always preferable for the full experience, but artificial grass is a perfectly playable surface.

What is the difference between a roquet and a croquet shot?

A roquet is when your ball hits another ball. After a roquet, you place your ball touching the roqueted ball and take a croquet shot, striking your ball so both move. You then take one final continuation stroke. These three events form the core sequence of association croquet play.

Who invented croquet?

Croquet was first commercialised and standardised by Jaques of London in 1851-1857. John Jaques II wrote the first published rules and worked with the All England Croquet Club to establish the equipment specifications that remain in use today. The modern standardised game is directly traceable to Jaques of London.