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ASSOCIATION CROQUET
In Association Croquet the object of the game is to get both balls around a course of twelve hoops in a set order, and finish by hitting the centre peg, (which has given us the phrase "pegging out").
On your turn you have two options:
· To hit a ball through its next hoop (running the hoop). If you manage to run the hoop you get a free turn.
Or you can:
· Hit your ball so that it hits any of the other three balls. In this case you get 2 free turns.
This second option is the key to the game. When you hit another ball, you pick your ball up and place it against the ball you've hit. You then play your ball again (called a croquet stroke). This means you can send both balls to different parts of the lawn. After the croquet stroke you have another free shot with which you can aim for another ball or run your hoop. You're allowed to hit (and then croquet) each of the other three balls on your turn.
By careful play you should be able to manoeuvre your ball in front of its hoop. If you do that and then run the hoop, you're allowed to hit all the other balls again. By using the other three balls you can then get your ball in front of its next hoop, etc, etc.
Good players can make 'breaks' as in snooker, sometimes running all twelve hoops in a single turn. But....if the player miscalculates and fails to run the hoop or hit another ball, his turn comes to an end, and his opponent has the chance to make the running himself.
This above description gives the essentials of the game; all other rules and modifications can be picked up easily in the course of play.
Association Croquet laws 2000
(link to CA website)
Australian Association Croquet tournament regulations
(link from ACA website)
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GOLF CROQUET
This is a much simpler and quicker version of the game, but can be just as exciting.
The object is to score hoops in the same order as in Association Croquet. There are no extra turns for going through hoops or hitting other balls although opposing balls can be knocked out of the way. The moment any of the players make a hoop, that hoop is "abandoned", and all players rush on to the next hoop.
The first player to score seven hoops wins the game, which usually takes about twenty minutes.
Golf Croquet Laws
(link from ACA website)
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GATEBALL
Gateball, which originated in Japan, is a very different, much faster mallet sport, played between two teams of five players.
The court is smaller and is set with three gates (hoops) and a goal pole (centre peg).
A game has a time limit of thirty minutes, unless one team earlier scores the maximum of 25 points. After thirty minutes the team that has scored the most gates wins.
In Gateball, when you strike another ball you can put your foot on your own ball and "spark" the other ball to an advantageous position (if it is one of your team balls) or off the court (for opponent balls).
Gateball Official Rules
(link to WGU website)
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