Types of Croquet

Different Types of Croquet

At Ballina Cherry Street Croquet we play Association, Golf & Ricochet each having two sessions. Association is played on Tuesday afternoons & Thursday mornings. Golf is played on Thursday & Sunday afternoons and Ricochet is played on Tuesday and Sunday mornings.

Ricochet Croquet

The opposing sides each have two balls: Blue and Black against Red and Yellow. The Game can be played as singles or doubles, the sides take alternate turns. In the first four turns the four balls are played from one of the starting lines ('baulk lines') at each end of the court. There is no strict order of playing the balls. Once the four balls are on the court a side chooses which of its two balls it shall play in each turn.

Each ball must run a set course, as shown in the diagrams above, going through each hoop in a specific order and direction and then hitting the peg. The side which first completes this course with both its balls wins the game. Thus the winning side has 14 points to score (6 hoop points and the peg point with each ball).

A ball scores a hoop point when it passes right through a hoop in its correct order ('runs a hoop') in one or more strokes. The point is scored whether the ball is struck directly by the player or by another ball. Clips coloured to match the balls are placed on the hoops or peg to indicate the next point for each ball.

A turn consists initially of one stroke only, but extra strokes can be earned in two ways:

• If the player's ball runs a hoop, they are entitled to another stroke.

• If the player's ball hits another ball ('makes a roquet'), they are entitled to two further strokes.

The player may roquet each of the other three balls in succession in any turn; each time their ball runs a hoop they may repeat this process. Thus, by a combination of taking roquet and running hoops, a series of points can be scored in a turn ('making a break'). A turn ends when the player has made all the strokes to which they are entitled, or if they send a ball off court when taking the first additional stroke after a roquet, or if they make a fault as defined in the Laws. A turn does not necessarily end if a ball is sent off court in any stroke other than when taking the additional stroke after a roquet.

Association Croquet

The game of Association Croquet is in essence a tactical struggle with each player trying to manoeuvre both their own and their opponent's balls to make points for their side whilst restricting their opponent's chances of doing the same by careful positioning of the balls at the end of their turn.

The game is played with four balls, Blue and Black versus Red and Yellow. The Game can be played as singles or doubles, each player in doubles playing with a particular ball throughout the game. The sides take alternate turns. In the first four turns the four balls are played from one of the starting lines ('baulk lines') at each end of the court. There is no strict order of playing the balls. Once the four balls are on the court a side chooses which of its two balls it shall play in each turn.

Each ball must run a set course, as shown in the diagrams above, going through each hoop twice in a specific order and direction and then hitting the peg. The side which first completes this course with both its balls wins the game. Thus the winning side has 26 points to score (12 hoop points and the peg point with each ball).

A ball scores a hoop point when it passes right through a hoop in its correct order ('runs a hoop') in one or more strokes. The point is scored whether the ball is struck directly by the player or by another ball. Clips coloured to match the balls are placed on the hoops or peg to indicate the next point for each ball. The clips are placed on the crown of a hoop for the first six hoops and on the side of the hoop for the last six.

A turn consists initially of one stroke only, but extra strokes can be earned in two ways:

• If the player's ball runs a hoop, they are entitled to another stroke.

• If the player's ball hits another ball ('makes a roquet'), they place their own ball in contact with the other ball and then strike their ball so that the other ball moves or shakes ('takes croquet'). After this the player is entitled to one further stroke.

The player may roquet and thus take croquet from each of the other three balls in succession in any turn; each time their ball runs a hoop they may repeat this process. Thus, by a combination of taking croquet and running hoops, a series of points can be scored in a turn ('making a break'). A turn ends when the player has made all the strokes to which they are entitled, or if they send a ball off court when taking croquet, or if they make a fault as defined in the Laws. A turn does not necessarily end if a ball is sent off court in any stroke other than when taking croquet.