Croquet is a very famous outdoor game in France and England. It is also known as Lawn Croquet, played in court or a lawn. It is played with a long-handled mallet with the help of which the player hits the ball.
This game was evolved from a Paille-maille, which was played in France in the 13th century. It came to England in the 16th century. Then the game that became to known as croquet. In lawn croquet, the informal version is played in the United States, and it was firstly sponsored by National Croquet Association which was established in 1882. The Court of croquet is flat grassed area measured 35 by 28 yards, small courts can also be used.
Croquet game can be played between two, four and six players in which a person has to hit a ball through six loops and hit the center peg. Each player can hit any ball, and they have to continue hitting the same ball. During a tournament meeting in New York City in the year 1889, the letters c and t were dropped by some of the players naming it Roque. It plays differed from Britain’s association croquet by having solid boundary balls and a clay surface.
The Ultimate Goal
A person has to hit the ball through the hoops and hit the center peg carefully without missing in one chance. There are six balls of blue, black, red and yellow color. A person can hit the ball of any color at a time.
Equipment Used in Croquet Game
- Centre Peg: A removable dowel may be inserted in the top to take clips. It is 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter and 18 inches above the ground.
- Hoops: Internal diameter 3 3/4 inches, height 12 inches above the ground and painted white. The first hoop has a blue top, and the last hoop (the Rover) has a red top.
- Clips: They are placed on the hoops or peg to indicate the next point for each ball. When a player is making a break, he may carry his clip with him until his turn ends, when he should immediately put it on his next hoop. On the top of the hoop for the first six hoops and the side for the last six colored the same as the balls..
- Balls: 4 balls colored blue, black, yellow and red with diameter 3 5/8 inches.
- Mallets: They must have parallel and identical surfaces. There is no restriction on height, size, and weight.
Forms of Croquet
- Association Croquet: It is played at an international level with four balls in pairs, with a couple of balls going through hoop one pair should win.
- Golf Croquet: It is a popular form in which each player takes a stroke, in turn, tries to hit the ball in the same loop.
- Garden Croquet: This is mostly played in the UK similar to association croquet which is easy for beginners to learn.
- American Six-Wicket: It is a six-hoop dominant version of the game in the United States. Balls deadness on another ball is carried overturn to turn until the ball has been cleared scoring a wicket.
- Nine-Wicket Croquet: It is mainly played in North America. It has nine wickets, two stakes, and up to six balls.
- Extreme Croquet: In this, there is no specific field dimension or out-of-bounds, and is played over new terrain.
- Bicycle Croquet: A time limit of 10 seconds is given to every player, and the player is not allowed to touch any part of the body to the ground.
Rules and Exceptions
- Turn ends if the wrong ball is struck then all the balls are moved to their prior position.
- If any balls roll out of the court, then the turn of the players ends.
- If the croqueted ball does not move in this case, the balls are transferred back to their prior positions.
- A turn ends if a double hit is done to a ball. It is allowed to hit a ball for the second time after it has roqueted another ball.
- If a “crush” stroke occurs a ball is pushed non-moving against a hoop by the mallet, and the turn ends.
How Does a Game Start?
A coin flipped and the winner gets a chance to choose which balls he wants to hit either-blue, black, yellow or red. The person with the blue ball goes first followed by red, black and at last yellow. A ball is placed on baulk line hence it is strucked to the field of play. From the very first shot complex tactics become apparent. Thus, the game can be enjoyable is played if played without the conniving strategies.
Types of Grips
The grip should be comfortable to hold the mallet and play smoothly. The three commonly used grips are:
- Standard Grip: The lower hand supports the back of the shaft with the thumb downside, and the upper hand grips the shaft near the top with the knuckles pointing forward. The space between the hands is a comfort, but it’s better to keep hands close for better grip.
- Solomon Grip: This grip always allows a big backswing. In this, both the hands grasp at the top with knuckles in front and thumbus uppermost. The hands are nearly still very close together.
- Irish Grip: This grip usually lowers down the shaft then the others styles. The rod is gripped by both the upper and lower hand palms by the side or behind.
The game is won when both the balls are peg out. Even moderate players can easily peg out both the balls in one turn. Usually, it is not right to peg out immediately but should be kept moving so it can assist the partner ball to finish. If you peg out one ball, then you’ll have only one ball to play against opponent two balls and if you’re are several loops in front you could quickly lose the game. The perfect way is to peel both balls through the rover hoop together and then peg them out together.
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