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{{Short description|Sport}}
{{About|the game|the food item|Croquette|the Smalltalk-based 3D software platform|Croquet project|the architectural feature|Crocket}}
{{distinguish|Cricket}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2024}}
{{more sources needed|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox sport
| name       = Croquet
| image      = Modern croquet equipment.JPG
| imagesize  = 300px
| caption    = Modern croquet equipment
| union      = [[World Croquet Federation]] (WCF) (association and golf)<br />
               [[United States Croquet Association]] (USCA) (6-wicket and 9-wicket)
              
| nickname   =
| first      = 1856, [[Sport in the United Kingdom|England]]
| registered =
| contact    = No
| team       = Singles, doubles, and team events
| mgender    =
| type       = Mallet sport
| equipment  = Mallet, balls, hoops or wickets
| olympic    = Only in [[1900 Summer Olympics]]
| paralympic = No
| IWGA       = No
}}

[[File:Wyczółkowski Game of croquet.jpg|thumb|[[Leon Wyczółkowski]], ''A Game of Croquet'' (1892–1895), [[National Museum, Warsaw|National Museum]], [[Warsaw]]]]
'''Croquet''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|ˈ|k|r|oʊ|k|eɪ|,_|-|k|i}} or {{IPAc-en|US|k|r|oʊ|ˈ|k|eɪ}}) is a [[sport]]<ref>[http://www.croquet.org.uk/ The Croquet Association (CA)], the national governing body for the sport of Croquet in England</ref><ref>[http://www.oxfordcroquet.com/ Oxford Croquet.com], "Croquet is a satisfying sport utilising tactics and touch in equal measure"</ref> which involves hitting wooden, plastic, or composite [[ball]]s with a mallet through hoops (often called [[Wicket|"wickets"]] in the [[United States]]) embedded in a grass playing court.<ref name=":0" />

The sport was codified in England in the 1860s and then spread overseas. However, similar games have been recorded back to the late Middle Ages. Today, there are several variations of the game.

At its highest level, the game is played internationally with top players coming from Australia, England, Spain, Egypt, South Africa and the United States amongst other countries. 

The sport can be played equally well by men and women. In 2018, two international championships open to both sexes were won by women.

==Variations==
In all forms of croquet, individual players or teams take turns striking the balls, scoring points by knocking them through a hoop. The game ends when a player or team reaches a predetermined number of points. Several variations exist that differ in when and how a stroke may be legally played, when points are scored, the layout of the lawn, and the target score. Commonly, social games adopt further non-standard variations to adapt play to the conditions. In all versions, players of all ages and genders compete on equal terms and are ranked together.

Two versions of the game are directly governed by the [[World Croquet Federation]], which organises individual and team World Championships.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://worldcroquet.org/world-championships |title=WCF World Championships|date=23 December 2021 |publisher=World Croquet Federation}}</ref> Other regional variants which developed in parallel remain common in parts of the world.

===Association croquet===
[[File:Croquetplayers.jpg|thumb|Croquet being played at a club in the UK; four balls are visible on the lawn black, green, red, and brown showing that two games are in progress (known as "double-banking"): red and black belong to one game, green and brown to the other]]
[[File:2014 BL Wetherby Yorkshire Prof 15.jpg|thumb|right|Croquet being played recreationally in [[Wetherby]], [[West Yorkshire]]]]

Association croquet is played between two individuals or teams, each playing with two balls. The object of the game is to be the first to strike each of one's balls through all six hoops in both directions, in a fixed order, and to strike the central peg. Each of these actions scores a point, with the maximum score being 26 points.

The first four turns must be taken to play the four balls onto the lawn from one of two "baulk lines" defined as one yard into the lawn on the western half of the south boundary and the eastern half of the north boundary. After this, a player elects at the start of each turn which of their two balls to play for the duration of that turn.

During a turn, a player may earn extra shots in two ways. A player earns a single extra shot by scoring a hoop point (hitting the striker's ball through a hoop), or two extra shots by causing their ball to contact another ball-an action called a "roquet". When a roquet is made, the player may pick up their ball and place it in contact with the roqueted ball. The next shot must move both the player's ball and the roqueted ball, and it is the "croquet" stroke that gives the game its name. After a successful croquet stroke, the player has a single further shot, known as the "continuation". During a turn, each of the other three balls may only be croqueted once between hoop points, but by stringing together a series of roquets, croquets, and scored hoops, several points may be scored in a single turn.

Advanced variants of association croquet give further penalties to dissuade skilled players from running every hoop with a ball on a single {{cuegloss|break}}, while handicap versions give weaker players chances to continue play after making an error. The extra turns, called "bisques" are effective in levelling the odds of winning.

===Golf croquet===
Golf croquet is played between two individuals or teams, each playing with two balls. The object of the game is to reach a certain number of points, typically seven, earned by being the first to run a hoop.

The game opens by playing each ball into the lawn from the fourth (south-eastern) corner of the lawn. Balls must be played in order (for the primary ball colours, this is blue, red, black, and yellow), and this order of play is maintained throughout the game. Hoops are contested in a fixed order, with a point awarded to the owner of the first ball to pass through the hoop in the correct direction. After a point is awarded, all players move on to contest the next hoop. Balls that are played more than halfway to the next hoop before a point is scored are considered offside, and are moved to penalty areas.

Golf croquet is the fastest-growing version of the game,<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url= http://www.croquet.org.uk/ca/survey/2007/survey.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101121030026/http://croquet.org.uk/ca/survey/2007/survey.htm | archive-date= 21 November 2010 | title=Older, Wealthier and with a bit to Think about |first= Kevin |last= Carter |year=2007 |publisher= The Croquet Association| access-date=5 November 2011}}</ref> owing largely to its simplicity and competitiveness. There is an especially large interest in competitive success among players in [[Egypt]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Egypt v Rest of World GC Event |url=https://www.croquet.org.uk/news/newsdb.asp?NewsID=2766 |first= Elizabeth |last= Williams |location= Roehampton Club |date=21 July 2008 |publisher=The Croquet Association}}</ref> By comparison with association croquet, golf croquet requires a smaller variety of shots and emphasises strategic skills and accurate shot-making. Games are shorter, balls are more likely to be hit harder, and 'jump' shots are more likely to be witnessed, where a ball is played to deliberately jump off the ground and over another ball.

=== Five hoop croquet ===
Five hoop croquet is a variation of Golf Croquet created to provide a simple introduction of Golf Croquet to new players. It follows the key principles of Golf Croquet but only plays the first 5 hoops. The winner is the player or team to reach a score of 3 hoops first. This version takes around 15 minutes to play and is normally played on a quarter size croquet lawn. It was originally created to be used for croquet events<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to Play Croquet |url=https://www.croquetandcocktails.com/how-to-play-croquet |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=www.croquetandcocktails.com |language=en-US}}</ref> and is now also listed by Croquet England<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fun Games on a Croquet Lawn |url=https://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=games/fun |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250804124040/https://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=games/fun |archive-date=2025-08-04 |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=www.croquet.org.uk |language=en-gb}}</ref> as a fun variation of the rules.  

===American six-wicket===
The American-rules version of croquet is the dominant version of the game in the United States and is also widely played in [[Canada]]. It is [[Sports governing body|governed]] by the [[United States Croquet Association]]. Its genesis is mostly in association croquet, but it differs in a number of important ways that reflect the home-grown traditions of American "backyard" croquet. Official rules were first published in 1894 by the Spalding Athletic Library, as adopted by the National American Croquet Association.<ref>Buffalo Sunday Morning News, NY, July 1, 1894. [https://www.newspapers.com/image/354197622/?terms=Spalding%20Athletic%20Library&match=1] Retrieved Dec 16, 2020</ref>

American six-wicket uses the same six-wicket layout as both association croquet and golf croquet, and is also played by two individuals or teams, each owning two balls.

Like association croquet, the object of the game is to be the first to pass each of their balls through all six hoops in both directions and to strike the central peg, for a total of 26 points. Unlike association croquet, balls are always played in the same sequence (blue, red, black, yellow). The limitation of roqueting each ball once between hoop points is, unlike in association croquet, carried over from turn to turn until the ball scores the next hoop. In American six-wicket, this is termed "deadness", and a separate board is required to keep track of the deadness for all four balls.<ref name="Ian Plummer">{{cite web |url=http://www.oxfordcroquet.com/laws/usca/index.asp |title=Association vs US (6-wicket) Rules Croquet |first= Ian |last= Plummer |date=1 January 2011 |publisher=Oxford Croquet}}</ref> A further difference is the more restrictive boundary-line rules of American croquet. In the American game, roqueting a ball [[out of bounds]] or running a hoop so that the ball goes out of bounds causes the turn to end, and balls that go out of bounds are replaced only {{convert|9|in|spell=in|cm}} from the boundary rather than {{Convert|1|yd|cm|spell=in}} as in association croquet.<ref name="Ian Plummer" /> "Attacking" balls on the boundary line to bring them into play is thus far more challenging.

===Nine-wicket===
Nine-wicket croquet, sometimes called "backyard croquet", is played mainly in the United States and Canada. In this version of croquet, there are nine wickets, two stakes, and up to six balls. The course is arranged in a double-diamond pattern, with one stake at each end of the course. Players start at one stake, navigate one side of the double diamond, hit the turning stake, then navigate the opposite side of the double diamond and hit the starting stake to end. If playing individually (''Cutthroat''), the first player to stake out is the winner. In partnership play, all members of a team must stake out, and a player might choose to avoid staking out (becoming a ''Rover'') in order to help a lagging teammate.<ref name="9-wicket rules"/>

Each time a ball is roqueted, the striker gets two bonus shots.
For the first bonus shot, the player has four options:<ref name="9-wicket rules">{{cite web|url=http://www.9wicketcroquet.com/rules/26/backyard-croquet-basic-rules|title=9-Wicket Croquet: Backyard Croquet: Basic Rules|website=www.9wicketcroquet.com|access-date=31 October 2014|archive-date=19 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719110428/http://www.9wicketcroquet.com/rules/26/backyard-croquet-basic-rules|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* From a mallet-head distance or less away from the ball that was hit ("taking a mallet-head")
* From a position in contact with the ball that was hit, with the striker's ball held steady by the striker's foot or hand (a "foot shot" or "hand shot")
* From a position in contact with the ball that was hit, with the striker's ball not held by foot or hand (a "croquet shot")
* From where the striker ball stopped after the roquet
The second bonus shot ("continuation shot") is an ordinary shot played from where the striker ball came to rest.

An alternative endgame is "poison": in this variant, a player who has scored the last wicket but not hit the starting stake becomes a "poison ball", which may eliminate other balls from the game by roqueting them. A non-poison ball that roquets a poison ball has the normal options. A poison ball that hits a stake or passes through any wicket (possibly through the action of a non-poison player) is eliminated. The last person remaining is the winner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.9wicketcroquet.com/rules/28/backyard-croquet-challenging-options#option6|title=9-Wicket Croquet: Backyard Croquet: Challenging Options|website=www.9wicketcroquet.com|access-date=31 October 2014|archive-date=2 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302102307/http://www.9wicketcroquet.com/rules/28/backyard-croquet-challenging-options#option6|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==International croquet==
International croquet competition is governed by the [[World Croquet Federation]], often referred to as the WCF. Croquet Europe<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.croqueteurope.com/ |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=www.croqueteurope.com |language=en-US}}</ref> is a subsidiary of the WCF set up to manage European croquet tournaments<ref>{{Cite web |title=Competitions |url=https://www.croqueteurope.com/competitions |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=www.croqueteurope.com |language=en-US}}</ref> and provide a closer link to European Clubs in the management of international croquet.<ref>{{Cite web |title=European Regional Committee - Events |url=https://worldcroquet.org/erc-events/ |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=World Croquet Federation |language=en-GB}}</ref>

As well as club-level games, county-level tournaments, and leagues, there are regular world championships and international matches between croquet-playing countries. The sport has particularly strong followings in the UK, Spain, US, New Zealand, Australia, and Egypt; many other countries also play. Every four years, the top countries play in the World Team Championships in AC (the [[MacRobertson International Croquet Shield|MacRobertson Shield]]) and GC (the Openshaw Shield). The current world rankings show England in top place for AC,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://worldcroquet.org/wcf-world-rankings/country-ac-ranking-list/ |title=WCF World Team Rankings |date=23 December 2021 |publisher=World Croquet Federation}}</ref> followed by Australia in second place, and New Zealand in third place, with the United States in fourth position. The same four countries appear in the top six of the GC country rankings,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://worldcroquet.org/wcf-world-rankings/country-gc-ranking-list/ |title=WCF World Team Rankings |date=15 January 2022 |publisher=World Croquet Federation}}</ref> below Egypt in top position, and with Spain at number six.

Individual World Championships usually take place every two or three years. The 2025 AC World Championships took place in [[West Palm Beach]], [[Florida]]; the winner was [[Reginald Bamford|Reg Bamford]]. The current Women's Association Croquet World Champion (2023) is Debbie Lines of England.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.croquetrecords.com/records/womensworlds/worlds2023.htm |title=Women's World Championship| date=12 October 2023 |publisher=Croquet Records Website}}</ref>

The most prestigious international team competition in association croquet is the [[MacRobertson International Croquet Shield]]. It is contested every three to four years between Australia, England (formerly Great Britain), the United States, and New Zealand. Other nations compete in Tier 2 and Tier 3 World Team Championships. Teams are promoted and relegated between the lower tiers, but there is no relegation to or promotion from the MacRobertson Shield. The current holders of the MacRobertson Shield are England, who won the title in 2023. The next [[MacRobertson International Croquet Shield]] competition will take place in London in July/August 2025. At the Golf Croquet World Team Championships, eight nations contest the Openshaw Shield. There is promotion and relegation between Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3. The current holders of the Openshaw Shield are the USA, who won in 2025. The world's top 10 association croquet players as of October 2025 were Robert Fletcher (Australia), Jamie Burch (England), [[Reginald Bamford|Reg Bamford]] (South Africa), Zack Watson (USA), Mark Avery (England), Paddy Chapman (New Zealand), Matthew Essick (USA), Logan McCorkindale (New Zealand), [[Robert Fulford (croquet player)|Robert Fulford]] (England) and Simon Hockey (Australia).<ref name="Chris Williams">{{cite web |url= http://butedock.com/cgs/rank.php |title= Croquet Grading System |first= Chris |last= Williams |access-date= 29 October 2025 }}</ref>

In April 2013, [[Reginald Bamford|Reg Bamford]] of [[South Africa]] beat Ahmed Nasr of Egypt in the final of the Golf Croquet World Championship in Cairo, becoming the first person to simultaneously hold the title in both association croquet and golf croquet.<ref>{{cite news| title=Reg Bamford won the WCF GC Championship to become the first AC & GC World Champion | first= Tim |last= King |location= Cairo | date= 28 April 2013 |url= https://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=/news/newsdb.asp&NewsID=4457 |publisher=The Croquet Association | access-date= 30 September 2013}}</ref> As of 2025, the Golf Croquet World Champion was Blake Fields (USA), and the Women's Golf Croquet World Champion was Jamie Gumbrell (Australia). In 2018, two international championships open to both sexes were won by women: in May, Rachel Gee of [[England]] beat Pierre Beaudry of Belgium to win the European Golf Croquet championship,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=press/news&NewsID=6315|publisher= The Croquet Association |title=Rachel Gee won the European GC Championship|access-date=26 July 2018}}</ref> and in October, Hanan Rashad of [[Egypt]] beat Yasser Fathy (also from Egypt) to win the World over-50s Golf Croquet championship.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://croquetscores.com/2018/gc/the-3th-over-50-golf-croquet-world-championship/championship|access-date=14 October 2018|title=Croquet Scores: the 3rd Over 50 Golf Croquet World Championship}}</ref>

Croquet [[Croquet at the 1900 Summer Olympics|was an event]] at the [[1900 Summer Olympics]]. [[Roque]], an American variation on croquet, [[Roque at the 1904 Summer Olympics|was an event]] at the [[1904 Summer Olympics]]. Croquet is recognized as the first Olympic sport to include female participants.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Gibson |first=Megan |date=2012-07-06 |title=Croquet |url=https://olympics.time.com/2012/07/16/really-strange-sports-that-are-longer-in-the-olympics/slide/croquet/ |access-date=2024-09-20 |magazine=Time |language=en-US |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> In the 1900 Olympic croquet events, France claimed victory in all three competitions. Gaston Aumoitte won the one-ball singles, Chrétien Waydelich won the two-ball singles, and the doubles event was won by the pair of Gaston Aumoitte and Georges Johin, securing all the medals as all 10 participants were French.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Paris 1900 Croquet Results |url=https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/paris-1900/results/croquet |access-date=September 19, 2024 |website=Olympics.com}}</ref>

==History==
{{tone|section|date=March 2023}}
[[File:Pall Mall - Project Gutenberg eText 14315.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Paille-maille]] (pall-mall) illustrated in ''Old English Sports, Pastimes and Customs'', published 1891; original image by Lauthier, 1717]]

The oldest document to bear the word ''croquet'' with a description of the modern game is the set of rules registered by [[Isaac Spratt]] in November 1856 with the [[Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers|Stationers' Company of London]]. This record is now in the [[Public Record Office]]. In 1868, the first croquet all-comers meet was held at [[Moreton-in-Marsh]], [[Gloucestershire]], and in the same year, the All England Croquet Club was formed at [[Wimbledon, London]].

Regardless of when and by what route it reached the [[British Isles]] and the [[British Empire|British colonies]] in its recognizable form, croquet is, like [[pall-mall]] and [[trucco]],  among the later forms of [[ground billiards]], which as a class have been popular in Western Europe back to at least the [[Late Middle Ages]], with roots in [[classical antiquity]], including sometimes the use of arches and pegs along with [[Ball (sports)|balls]] and [[mallet]]s or other striking sticks (some more akin to modern [[field hockey]] sticks).<ref name="Shamus 1999">{{Shamos 1999|117}}</ref><ref name="Clare">{{Cite book
|title=Billiards and Snooker Bygones |last=Clare |first=Norman |publisher=Shire Publications |location=Princes Risborough, England |year=1996 |orig-year=1985 |page=5 |edition=amended |isbn=0-85263-730-6}}</ref><ref name="Stein & Rubino 2008">{{Stein & Rubino 2008| 2, 4, 5, 14, 27}}</ref> By the 12th century, a team ball game called ''{{lang|frm|la soule}}'' or ''{{lang|fr|choule}}'', akin to a chaotic version of hockey or football (depending on whether sticks were used), was regularly played in France and southern Britain between villages or parishes; it was attested in [[Cornwall]] as early as 1283.<ref>{{cite book |title=Medieval Cornwall |author-link=Leonard Elliott Elliot-Binns |first=L. E. |last=Elliot-Binns |publisher=Methuen & Co. |location=London}}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2016}}

In the book ''Queen of Games: The History of Croquet'',<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Nicky |title=Queen of Games: The History of Croquet |publisher=George Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year=1991 |isbn=0-297-81176-2}}</ref> Nicky Smith presents two theories of the origin of the modern game of croquet, which took England by storm in the 1860s and then spread overseas.

===French origin theory===
The first explanation is that the ancestral game was introduced to Britain from France during the 1660–1685 reign of [[Charles II of England, Scotland, and Ireland]] and was played under the name of ''{{lang|enm|paille-maille}}'' (among other spellings, today usually ''pall-mall''), derived ultimately from Latin words for 'ball and mallet' (the latter also found in the name of the earlier French game, ''{{lang|frm|[[jeu de mail]]}}''). This was the explanation given in the ninth edition of ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', dated 1877.

In his 1801 book ''The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England'', Joseph Strutt described the way pall-mall was played in England at the time:<blockquote>"Pale-maille is a game wherein a round [[Boxwood|box&#91;wood&#93;]] ball is struck with a mallet through a high arch of iron, which he that can do at the fewest blows, or at the number agreed upon, wins. It is to be observed that there are two of these arches, that is, one at either end of the alley. The game of mall was a fashionable amusement in the reign of Charles the Second, and the walk in Saint James's Park, now called the Mall, received its name from having been appropriated to the purpose of playing at mall, where Charles himself and his courtiers frequently exercised themselves in the practice of this pastime."<ref>{{Cite book |title=Sports and Pastimes of the People of England |publisher=Methuen |first= Joseph |last=Strutt |page=[https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012252157/page/n177 96] |date=1810 |via=Internet Archive |url= https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012252157}}</ref></blockquote>

While the name ''pall-mall'' and various games bearing this name also appeared elsewhere (France and Italy), the description above suggests that the croquet-like games in particular were popular in England by the early 17th century. Some other [[Early modern era|early modern]] sources refer to pall-mall being played over a large distance (as in golf); however, an image in Strutt's 1801 book shows a croquet-like [[ground billiards]] game (balls on the ground, hoop, bats, and peg) being played over a {{em|short}}, garden-sized distance. The image's caption describes the game as "a curious ancient pastime", confirming that croquet games were not new in early-19th-century England.
[[File:EarlyCroquetSportsofPeopleofEnglandStrutt.jpg|thumb|Early croquet-like game from ''The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England'', first published in 1801; a hoop, peg, and two players with balls are clearly shown 

Such implements in [[ground billiards]] games date to [[classical antiquity]].]]

In [[Samuel Johnson]]'s 1755 dictionary, his definition of "pall-mall" clearly describes a game with similarities to modern croquet: "A play in which the ball is struck with a mallet through an iron ring".<ref>{{Cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=z3kKAAAAIAAJ&q=pelmel&pg=RA2-PA519 |title= A dictionary of the English language |first1= Samuel | first2= John |last2= Walker |first3= Robert S. |last3= Jameson |page=519|year= 1828|last1= Johnson }}</ref> However, there is no evidence that pall-mall involved the croquet stroke, which is the distinguishing characteristic of the modern game.

===Irish origin theory===
The second theory is that the rules of the modern game of croquet arrived in [[Ireland]] during the 1850s, perhaps after being brought there from [[Brittany]], where a similar game was played on the beaches. Regular contact between Ireland and France had continued since the [[Norman invasion of Ireland]] in 1169. By no later than the early 15th century, the game ''{{lang|frm|jeu de mail}}'' (itself ancestral to pall-mall and perhaps to indoor [[Cue sports#History|billiards]]) was popular in France, including in the courts of [[Henry II of France|Henry II]] in the 16th century and [[Louis XIV]] of the 17th.

At least one version of it, ''{{lang|frm|rouët}}'' ('wheel'), was a multi-ball lawn game.  Records show a game called "crookey", similar to croquet, being played at [[Castlebellingham]] in County Louth, Ireland, in 1834, which was introduced to [[Galway]] in 1835 and played on the bishop's palace garden, and in the same year to the genteel Dublin suburb of Kingstown (today [[Dún Laoghaire]]) where it was first spelled as "croquet".{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} There is, however, no pre-1858 Irish document that describes the way the game was played; in particular, there is no reference to the distinctive croquet stroke,<ref name="prichard">{{cite book |last=Prichard |first=D. M. C. |title=The History of Croquet |publisher=Cassell |date=1981 |isbn=0-304-30759-9}}</ref> which is described above under "[[#Association|Variations: Association]]". The noted croquet historian Dr. Prior, in his book of 1872, makes the categorical statement, "One thing only is certain: it is from Ireland that croquet came to England and it was on the lawn of the late Lord Lonsdale that it was first played in this country."<ref>{{cite book| title=A Brief History of Croquet in Ireland |first1=Clive |last1=Martin |first2=Simon |last2=Williams |year=2004}}</ref>

John Jaques apparently claimed in a letter to [[Arthur Lillie]] in 1873 that he had himself seen the game played in Ireland, writing, "I made the implements and published directions (such as they were) before Mr. Spratt [mentioned above] introduced the subject to me."<ref>{{Cite book |title=Croquet: Its History, Rules, and Secrets |first= Arthur |last=Lillie |page=29 |publisher=Longmans, Green |date=1897  |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=irBDAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA29}}</ref> Whatever the truth of the matter, Jaques certainly played an important role in popularising the game, producing editions of the rules in 1857, 1860, and 1864.

===Heyday and decline===
Croquet became highly popular as a social pastime in England during the 1860s. It was enthusiastically adopted and promoted by the [[Arthur Algernon Capell, 6th Earl of Essex|Earl of Essex]], who held lavish croquet parties at [[Cassiobury House]], his stately home in [[Watford]], [[Hertfordshire]], and the Earl even launched his own ''Cassiobury'' brand croquet set.<ref>{{cite web |title=History |url= http://www.watfordcroquet.org.uk/history.php |work=WatfordCroquet.org.uk |publisher=Watford Cassiobury Croquet Club |access-date=7 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Reid |first1=Mayne |title=Croquet, etc |date=1869 |page=46 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bxVdAAAAcAAJ&q=Croquet%2C%20etc.&pg=PA46}}</ref> By 1867, Jaques had printed 65,000 copies of his ''Laws and Regulations'' of the game. It quickly spread to other [[English language|Anglophone]] countries, including [[Australia]], [[Canada]], [[New Zealand]], [[South Africa]], and the [[United States]]. No doubt one of the attractions was that the game could be played by both sexes; this also ensured a certain amount of adverse comment.

It is no coincidence that the game became popular at the same time as the cylinder [[lawn mower]], since croquet can only be played well on a lawn that is flat and finely-cut.

[[File:Män och kvinnor spelar krocket framför hus på Lidingö - Nordiska Museet - NMA.0040765.jpg|thumb|Croquet players in Sweden, early 20th century]]
By the late 1870s, however, croquet had been eclipsed by another fashionable game, [[tennis|lawn tennis]], and many of the newly created croquet clubs, including the All England Club at Wimbledon, converted some or all of their lawns into [[tennis court]]s. There was a revival in the 1890s, but going forward croquet was always a minority sport, with national individual participation amounting to a few thousand players. The [[All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club]] still has a croquet lawn, but has not hosted any significant tournaments. Its championship was won 38 times by [[Bernard Neal]]. The English headquarters for the game is now in [[Cheltenham]].

[[File:Eglington1.JPG|thumb|left|A game of croquet being played at [[Eglinton Country Park|Eglinton Castle]], North Ayrshire, in the early 1860s]]
The earliest known reference to croquet in Scotland is the booklet ''The Game of Croquet, its Laws and Regulations'', which was published in the mid-1860s for the proprietor of Eglinton Castle, the [[Earl of Eglinton]]. On the page facing the title page is a picture of Eglinton Castle with a game of "croquet" in full swing.<ref name="C">{{Cite book |chapter=Introduction |url=http://www.edinburghcroquetclub.com/intro.html |title=Edinburgh Croquet Club |access-date=4 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710171159/http://www.edinburghcroquetclub.com/intro.html |archive-date=10 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The croquet lawn existed on the northern terrace, between [[Eglinton Castle]] and the Lugton Water. The 13th Earl developed a variation on croquet named Captain Moreton's Eglinton Castle croquet, which had small bells on the eight hoops "to ring the changes", two pegs, a double hoop with a bell, and two tunnels for the ball to pass through. In 1865, the 'Rules of the Eglinton Castle and Cassiobury Croquet' was published by [[Edmund Routledge]]. Several incomplete sets of this form of croquet are known to exist, and one complete set is still used for demonstration games in the West of Scotland.<ref name="C"/>

==Glossary of terms==
[[File:CroquetConverse4037.JPG|thumb|Backyard croquet being played in rough grass with inexpensive equipment, Pacific Northwest, August 2009]]
[[File:Croquet Player, 1959.jpg|thumb|Croquet player in a front yard in [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]], 1959]]
;Backward ball: The ball of a side that has scored fewer hoops (compare with 'forward ball')<ref name="Hawkins">{{cite book|title=Complete Croquet: A Guide to Skills, Tactics, and Strategy|first= James |last= Hawkins|publisher=Crowood Press|isbn=978-1-84797-168-5|year=2010}}</ref>
;Ball-in-hand: A ball that the striker can pick up to change its position, for example:
:# Any ball when it leaves the court has to be replaced on the yard-line
:# The striker's ball after making a roquet must be placed in contact with the roqueted ball
:# The striker's ball when the striker is entitled to a lift<ref name="laws">''[https://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=games/association/laws/7th]'', 7th Edition, World Croquet Federation.</ref>
;Ball in play: A ball after it has been played into the game, which is not a ball in hand or pegged out<ref name="laws" />
;Baulk: An imaginary line on which a ball is placed for its first shot in the game, or when taking a lift: The A-baulk coincides with the western half of the yard line along the south boundary; the B-baulk occupies the eastern half of the north boundary yard line.<ref name="laws" />
;Bisque, half-bisque: A bisque is a free turn in a handicap match. A half-bisque is a restricted handicap turn in which no point may be scored.<ref name="laws" />
;Break down: To end a turn by making a mistake<ref name="Hawkins"/>
;Cannon: In association croquet, a shot which results after a roqueted ball comes to rest in contact with another ball on the lawn: The laws allow for this third ball to also be moved on the resulting croquet stroke, staying in touch with the roqueted ball (on which the striker is now ball-in-hand). The croquet stroke with the three balls in contact is referred to as a "cannon".<ref name="Hutchinson">{{Cite web|last=Hutchinson|first=John|title=The Cannon in Association Croquet|website=[[YouTube]] |date=20 September 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTnieJ-B7UQ}}</ref>
;Continuation stroke: Either the bonus stroke played after running a hoop in order or the second bonus stroke played after making a roquet<ref name="laws" />
;Corner cannon: In association croquet, a cannon taken from a corner of the court : Corner cannons occur a good deal more frequently than other cannons because skilled players seek them out as a way of getting a ball out of a corner and into a break. The corner is a fairly large target into which to rush and set up a corner cannon.<ref name="Kroeger">{{Cite web|last=Kroeger|first=Bob|title=Croquet - Corner Cannons|website=[[YouTube]] |date=20 July 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCR1njAABhM}}</ref>
;Croquet stroke: A stroke taken after making a roquet, in which the striker's ball and the roqueted ball are placed together in contact<ref name="laws" />
;Double tap: A fault in which the mallet makes more than one audible sound when it strikes the ball<ref name="laws" />
;Double banking: The practice of playing 2 games of croquet simultaneously on the same lawn/court : This is done by using primary colours and secondary colours. When the two games impinge on each other players mark the balls to allow the other game to proceed.
;Dolly rush: A rush with a very short distance (a foot or less) between the balls; a dolly rush is easy to control and is generally considered quite desirable
;Forward ball: The ball of a player or team that has scored more hoops (compare with 'backward ball')<ref name="Hawkins"/>
;Hit in: To make a roquet, usually at distance, which starts a break
;Hoop: Metal (inverted) U-shaped gate inserted into ground<ref name="laws" /> (also called a '''wicket''' in the US, which is of the same etymology as [[wicket gate]]<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing|title=The American Heritage Dictionary entry: wicket|url=https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=wicket|access-date=2020-09-08|website=ahdictionary.com}}</ref>)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.croquetamerica.com/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=962311&module_id=450334|title=United States Croquet Association – Introduction|last=Association|first=United States Croquet|website=www.croquetamerica.com|language=en|access-date=2018-01-16}}</ref>
;Leave: The position of the balls after a successful break, in which a player leaves the balls placed so as to make life as difficult as possible for the opponent and/or easy for themselves on the next turn if the opponent misses<ref name="Hawkins"/>
;Lift: A turn in which the player is entitled to remove the ball from its current position and play instead from either baulk line; a lift is permitted when a ball has been placed by the opponent in a position where it is wired from all other balls, and also in advanced play when the opponent has completed a break that includes hoops 1-back or 4-back<ref name="laws" />
;Object ball: A ball which is going to be rushed
;Peg out: To cause a rover ball to strike the peg and conclude its active involvement in the game<ref name="laws" />
;Peel: To send a ball other than the striker's ball through its next hoop in order<ref name="laws" />
;Pioneer: A ball placed in a strategic position near the striker's next-but-one or next-but-two hoop, to assist in running that hoop later in the break
;Primary colours''' or '''first colours: The main croquet ball colours used are blue, red, black and yellow. One player or team plays blue and black, the other red and yellow.<ref name="laws" />
;Push: A fault when the mallet pushes the striker's ball with an extended contact, rather than making a clean strike<ref name="laws" />
;Roquet: (Second syllable rhymes with "play") : When the striker's ball hits a ball with which the player is entitled to then take a croquet shot, it is a roquet. At the start of a turn, the striker is entitled to roquet all the other three balls once. Once the striker's ball goes through its target hoop, the player is again entitled to roquet the other balls once.<ref name="laws" />
;Rover ball: A ball that has run all 12 hoops in order, and can therefore be pegged out<ref name="laws" />
;Rover hoop: The last hoop, indicated by a red top bar; the first hoop has a blue top<ref name="laws" />
;Run a hoop: To send the striker's ball through a hoop; if the hoop is the hoop in order for the striker's ball, the striker earns a bonus stroke<ref name="laws" />
;Rush: A roquet when the roqueted ball is sent to a specific position on the court, such as the next hoop for the striker's ball or close to a ball that the striker wishes to roquet next.<ref name="Hawkins"/>
;Scatter shot: A continuation stroke used to hit a ball which may not be roqueted in order to send it to a less dangerous position<ref name="Hawkins"/>
;Secondary colours: (Also known as second colours or alternate colours):<ref name="laws"/> The colours of the balls used in the second game played on the same court in double-banking are green, pink, brown and white. Green and brown versus pink and white, are played by the same player or pair.<ref name="laws" />
;Sextuple peel (SXP): To peel the partner ball through its last six hoops in the course of a single turn; very few players have achieved this feat, but it is being seen increasingly at championship level<ref name="Hawkins"/>
;Tice: A ball sent to a location that will entice an opponent to shoot at it but miss<ref name="Hawkins"/>
;Triple peel (TP): To send a partner ball through its last three hoops, and then peg out both partner ball and striker's ball, in the course of a single turn; see also [[Triple Peel]] : A variant is the '''Triple Peel on Opponent''' (TPO), where the opponent's ball, rather than the partner ball, is peeled. The significance of this manoeuvre is that in advanced play, making a break that includes the tenth hoop (called 4-back) is penalized by granting the opponent a lift (entitling him to take the next shot from either baulk line). Therefore, many breaks stop voluntarily with three hoops and the peg still to run.<ref name="Hawkins" />
;Wired: When a hoop or the peg impedes the path of a striker's ball, or the swing of the mallet, a player will often endeavour to finish a turn with the opponent's balls wired from each other.<ref name="Hawkins"/>
;Yard line: An imaginary line {{Convert|1|yd|spell = in}} from the boundary; balls which go off the boundary are generally replaced on the yard line (but if this happens on a croquet stroke, the turn ends)<ref name="laws"/>

==In art and literature==
{{more citations needed section|date=July 2021}}
[[File:Edouard Manet 012.jpg|thumb|''[[The Croquet Game]]'', [[Édouard Manet]], 1873]]
[[File:Louise Abbéma - A Game of Croquet.jpg|thumb|right|[[Louise Abbéma]], ''A Game of Croquet'' ([[Trouville-sur-Mer|Trouville]], 1872), private collection]]

Croquet is popularly believed to be viciously competitive.<ref>"So they left the subject and played croquet, which is a very good game for people who are annoyed at each other, giving many opportunities for venting rancour." —[[Rose Macaulay]], ''The Towers of Trebizond''</ref> That may derive from the fact that (unlike in golf) players will often attempt to move their opponents' balls to unfavourable positions. However, purely negative play is rarely a winning strategy; successful players (in all versions other than golf croquet) will use all four balls to set up a break for themselves, rather than simply making the game as difficult as possible for their opponents.

The way croquet is depicted in paintings and books says much about popular perceptions of the game, though little about the reality of modern play.
* In 1868 a song titled ''Croquet'' (essentially anonymous: by M.B.C.S and W.O.F.) was included in a popular song book by W. O. Perkins, ''The Golden Robin'' (Pub. Oliver Ditson & Company, New York). ("Upon the smoothly shaven lawn, Beneath the skies of May, Oh, boys and girls, this merry morn, Come out and play Croquet ..."); there are four full verses.
* [[Winslow Homer]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Winslow Homer: The Croquet Game|url=https://artgallery.yale.edu/publication/winslow-homer-croquet-game|work=[[Yale University Art Gallery]]|access-date=July 8, 2021}}</ref> [[Édouard Manet]],<ref name="white">{{citation|last=White|first=Laura| contribution =The "Queer-Looking Party" Challenge to Family in Alice|title=Queer Victorian Families: Curious Relations in Literature|date=11 February 2015|editor-last =Dau|editor-first=Duc|editor-last2=Preston|editor-first2=Shale |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|page=34|isbn=9781317647065}}</ref> and [[Pierre Bonnard]]<ref name="white"/> all have paintings titled ''The Croquet Game.''
* [[Norman Rockwell]] often depicted the game, including in his painting ''Croquet.''
* [[Edward Gorey]]'s ''[[Edward Gorey#Bibliography|The Epiplectic Bicycle]]'' features illustrations of the main characters playing with croquet mallets.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ortiz|first=Aimee|title=Five Edward Gorey stories that everyone should read |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/Tech-Culture/2013/0222/Five-Edward-Gorey-stories-that-everyone-should-read|work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|date=February 22, 2013|access-date=July 8, 2021}}</ref>
* Croquet is popular pastime of [[Leo Tolstoy]]'s ''[[Anna Karenina]]'' characters.
* [[H. G. Wells]] wrote ''[[The Croquet Player]]'' which uses croquet as a metaphor for the way in which people confront the very problem of their own existence.
[[File:Alice par John Tenniel 30.png|thumb|upright|[[Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)|Alice]] trying to play croquet with a flamingo in ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'' (1865)]]
* [[Lewis Carroll]] featured a [[Literary nonsense|nonsense]] version of the game in the popular children's novel ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'': a [[hedgehog]] was used as the ball, a [[flamingo]] as the mallet, and [[playing cards]] as the hoops.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-06-19 |title=Jaques of London, the company that invented croquet, ping pong and Happy Families |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/croquet/10911088/Jaques-of-London-the-company-that-invented-croquet-ping-pong-and-Happy-Families.html |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=The Telegraph |language=en}}</ref>
* In the ''[[Thursday Next]]'' series of novels, notably ''[[Something Rotten (Fforde)|Something Rotten]]'', [[Jasper Fforde]] depicts an [[Parallel universe (fiction)|alternative world]] in which croquet is a brutal mass spectator sport.
* The cover of the 1971 [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] album ''[[Nursery Cryme]]'' shows Cynthia, a character in the song "Musical Box" holding a croquet mallet with a few heads on the playing field including another character of the song Henry's head that she removed with said mallet.
* In [[Stephen King|Stephen King's]] 1977 novel ''[[The Shining (novel)|The Shining]]'', the main character, [[Jack Torrance]], uses a croquet mallet to chase and attack the other characters.<ref name="rawlins">{{cite magazine|last=Rawlings|first=Nate|title=Top 10 Worst Fictional Fathers|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2078151_2078159_2078165,00.html|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=June 17, 2011|access-date=July 8, 2021}}</ref> The [[The Shining (miniseries)|1997 miniseries]] features the use of croquet however, [[Stanley Kubrick's]] [[The Shining (film)|1980 film adaptation]] uses a fire axe instead.<ref name="rawlins"/>
* In the 1980s geography game ''[[Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1985 video game)|Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?]]'', one of the characters, Fast Eddie B, is described as a "world class croquet player", and two other gang members, Ihor Ihorovich and Scar Graynolt, also play the sport.
* In the 1988 film ''[[Heathers]]'', Veronica ([[Winona Ryder]]) and her friends, the Heathers, are depicted as playing croquet,<ref>{{cite web|last=Gardner|first=Abby|title=Everything You Didn't Know About Heathers|url=https://www.glamour.com/story/everything-you-didnt-know-about-heathers|work=[[Glamour (magazine)|Glamour]]|date=December 30, 2019|access-date=July 8, 2021}}</ref> though at the beginning, the Heathers are playing croquet to hit Veronica on the head. Croquet mallets also feature in the publicity posters for ''[[Heathers: The Musical]]''.
* Croquet is featured prominently in the music video for "[[I'm Not Okay (I Promise)]]" by [[My Chemical Romance]].
* Croquet is featured in the novel ''[[The Grapes of Wrath|Grapes of Wrath]]'' by [[John Steinbeck]] wherein the Joads stay at the government camp in [[Weedpatch]], Ca.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Nealand|first=Daniel|title=Archival Vintages for The Grapes of Wrath|url=https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2008/winter/grapes.html|journal=[[Prologue (magazine)|Prologue]]|date=Winter 2008|volume=40|number=4|access-date=July 8, 2021}}</ref>
* In the 1951 [[Woody Woodpecker]] animated short ''Wicket Wacky'', Woody sneaks into a croquet field to play, while a gopher bothered by the noise tries to stop him.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wicket Wacky (Short 1951) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142982/ |website=IMDb |access-date=15 July 2024}}</ref>

==Clubs==
About 200 croquet clubs across the United States are members of the United States Croquet Association.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.croquetamerica.com/content.aspx?page_id=154&club_id=962311 |title=Clubs Directory |publisher=United States Croquet Association |access-date=23 December 2021}}</ref>

Many colleges have croquet clubs as well, such as [[The University of Virginia]], [[The University of Chicago]], [[Pennsylvania State University]],<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.athletics.psu.edu/recreation/clubs.asp?Club_ID=97 |title= Penn State Club Sports |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111030092355/http://www.athletics.psu.edu/recreation/clubs.asp?Club_ID=97 |archive-date= 30 October 2011}}</ref> [[Bates College]], [[State University of New York at New Paltz|SUNY New Paltz]], [[Harvard University]], and [[Dartmouth College]]. Notably, [[St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe)|St. John's College]] and the [[US Naval Academy]] engage in a yearly match in [[Annapolis, Maryland]]. Both schools also compete at the collegiate level and the rivalry continues to be an Annapolis tradition, attracting thousands of spectators each April.

In England and Wales, there are over 200 clubs affiliated with Croquet England.<ref>{{cite web |title=Croquet England Affiliated Croquet Clubs |url=https://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=games/clubs/details&Action=Clubs |access-date=9 February 2025 |publisher=Croquet England}}</ref> The [[All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club]] at Wimbledon is famous for its [[lawn tennis]] tournament, but retains an active croquet section. There are clubs in many universities and colleges, with an annual varsity match being played between Oxford and Cambridge.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://users.ox.ac.uk/~croquet/varsity/archive.shtml |title=Varsity Archive |publisher=Oxford University Croquet Club |access-date=14 September 2010}}</ref> With over 1800 participants, the 2011 Oxford University "Cuppers" (inter-college) tournament claimed to be not only the largest croquet tournament ever, but the largest sporting event in the university's history.<ref>{{cite web| title= Oxford University Croquet Club - Welcome! | url= http://users.ox.ac.uk/~croquet/college/cuppersintro.shtml |publisher= Users.ox.ac.uk | access-date= 3 November 2011}}</ref>

In Spain there are 37 clubs federated to the Federación Española de Croquet. Croquet is a growing sport in Spain with 4 new clubs joining the FEC in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Clubs de croquet federados |url=https://www.fecroquet.es/index.php/es/inicio/clubs-y-campos-de-croquet-en-espana/clubs-de-croquet-federados |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=Federación española de croquet |language=es-es}}</ref>

There are 112 clubs in New Zealand, affiliated with 19 associations. They are governed by Croquet New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://croquet.org.nz/nz-croquet/ |title=Croquet New Zealand - About Us |publisher=Croquet New Zealand |access-date=17 August 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Sports}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Croquet Hall of Fame]]
* [[Jaques of London]]
* [[Intercollegiate sports team champions#Croquet|US intercollegiate croquet champions]]
* [[Roque]]
* [[Woodball]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [http://www.oxfordcroquet.com/coach/synopsis/index.asp A Synopsis of the Laws of Association Croquet], from Oxford Croquet
* [https://www.croquetamerica.com/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=962311&module_id=454227 Synopsis of American Croquet], from the [[United States Croquet Association]]
* [http://www.9wicketcroquet.com/rules/ The official rules of Backyard Croquet] (nine-wicket layout), from the [http://www.croquetamerica.com/ United States Croquet Association]
* [https://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=games/garden/rules/GardenRules/ Official Rules of Garden Croquet] (British six-hoop garden croquet)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090619151140/http://www.croquet.com/croquet/croquetrulesarticle.cfm Croquet Rules and Regulations], from ''Croquet.com''
* [https://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=games/tech/jargon The Croquet Association Jargon List]
* [https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/arkley Arkley Croquet Collection] – An exceptional selection of paintings, cartoons and photographs depicting the game of croquet, from UBC Library Digital Collections
* [http://www.croquetworld.com/Letters/checklist.asp  Checklist of Croquet Books and Pamphlets, 1853 to 2002]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Croquet| ]]
[[Category:Former Summer Olympic sports]]
[[Category:Lawn games]]
[[Category:Stick sports]]
[[Category:Sports originating in England]]
[[Category:Sports originating in the United Kingdom]]